Van Strum & Towne Inc. Purchases 7,196 Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Van Strum & Towne Inc. increased its position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 22.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,892 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,196 shares during the period. AbbVie accounts for 0.0% of Van Strum & Towne Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Van Strum & Towne Inc.’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $6,911,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Groupama Asset Managment grew its stake in shares of AbbVie by 40.3% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 135,749 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 38,974 shares during the last quarter. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in AbbVie during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in AbbVie during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in AbbVie in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AbbVie in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at AbbVie

In related news, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.90, for a total value of $6,070,159.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,985,223.60. This trade represents a 40.32 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 1,800 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.24, for a total transaction of $310,032.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,202,751.92. This trade represents a 20.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 56,439 shares of company stock worth $11,377,057 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of AbbVie stock opened at $211.90 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $374.07 billion, a PE ratio of 88.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. AbbVie Inc. has a twelve month low of $153.58 and a twelve month high of $218.66. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $191.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $188.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.98 by ($0.82). AbbVie had a return on equity of 296.28% and a net margin of 7.59%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.79 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.10%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is currently 273.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ABBV. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of AbbVie from $224.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of AbbVie from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of AbbVie from $212.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 target price (up previously from $218.00) on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of AbbVie from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Five equities research 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.45.

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.