Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Has $14.11 Million Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 79,414 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 824 shares during the quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $14,112,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Trading Up 1.2 %

ABBV stock opened at $205.12 on Friday. AbbVie Inc. has a 52 week low of $153.58 and a 52 week high of $218.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.66. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $197.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $189.02. The company has a market capitalization of $362.85 billion, a PE ratio of 85.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 prior year, the firm earned $2.79 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 273.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AbbVie news, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total value of $1,143,466.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,429,199.90. This trade represents a 20.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.90, for a total transaction of $6,070,159.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,985,223.60. This trade represents a 40.32 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 54,639 shares of company stock worth $11,067,025. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on ABBV shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on AbbVie from $224.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded AbbVie from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of AbbVie to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 price target (up previously from $218.00) on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $181.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $211.45.

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.