AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) Shares Sold by Whittier Trust Co.

Whittier Trust Co. trimmed its holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 244,735 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,311 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $43,489,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. grew its stake in shares of AbbVie by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 195,450 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,731,000 after purchasing an additional 6,375 shares during the last quarter. Symmetry Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 40.1% during the fourth quarter. Symmetry Partners LLC now owns 1,831 shares of the company’s stock worth $325,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares during the period. Lingohr Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at $885,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in AbbVie by 52.2% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 755,359 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,227,000 after buying an additional 259,051 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Financial Services Inc. raised its position in AbbVie by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Services Inc. now owns 4,274 shares of the company’s stock worth $759,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on ABBV shares. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 target price (up previously from $218.00) on shares of AbbVie in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on AbbVie from $212.00 to $214.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Leerink Partnrs raised AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on AbbVie from $212.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on AbbVie from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.45.

Insider Buying and Selling at AbbVie

In other AbbVie news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 18,944 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.41, for a total transaction of $3,853,399.04. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,496 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,338,401.36. This represents a 62.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.90, for a total value of $6,070,159.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,284 shares in the company, valued at $8,985,223.60. This trade represents a 40.32 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 54,639 shares of company stock worth $11,067,025. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Stock Down 0.8 %

ABBV stock opened at $212.21 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.55. AbbVie Inc. has a 12 month low of $153.58 and a 12 month high of $218.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $374.62 billion, a PE ratio of 88.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $193.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $188.48.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.98 by ($0.82). AbbVie had a net margin of 7.59% and a return on equity of 296.28%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.79 EPS. Equities analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie’s payout ratio is 273.33%.

AbbVie Profile

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.