Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC Trims Stock Holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,393 shares of the company’s stock after selling 344 shares during the quarter. AbbVie makes up 0.9% of Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $5,578,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ABBV. Groupama Asset Managment raised its stake in shares of AbbVie by 40.3% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 135,749 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 38,974 shares in the last quarter. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in AbbVie during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Quest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 4,140.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 212 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 207 shares during the period. Marquette Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AbbVie during the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of AbbVie by 100.0% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 1,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.24, for a total value of $310,032.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,983 shares in the company, valued at $1,202,751.92. This represents a 20.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

AbbVie Trading Down 2.4 %

NYSE ABBV opened at $171.32 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $302.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64. AbbVie Inc. has a 12-month low of $153.58 and a 12-month high of $207.32. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $177.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $184.63.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $3.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.92 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $14.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.28 billion. AbbVie had a return on equity of 244.01% and a net margin of 9.22%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.95 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.96 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be issued a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. This is an increase from AbbVie’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is 227.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on ABBV shares. Argus upgraded shares of AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $231.00 to $224.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Leerink Partners upgraded AbbVie from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $206.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on AbbVie in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $205.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and set a $191.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.50.

About AbbVie

AbbVie Inc discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells pharmaceuticals worldwide. The company offers Humira, an injection for autoimmune and intestinal Behçet's diseases, and pyoderma gangrenosum; Skyrizi to treat moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, psoriatic disease, and Crohn's disease; Rinvoq to treat rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, atopic dermatitis, axial spondyloarthropathy, ulcerative colitis, and Crohn's disease; Imbruvica for the treatment of adult patients with blood cancers; Epkinly to treat lymphoma; Elahere to treat cancer; and Venclexta/Venclyxto to treat blood cancers.