Certior Financial Group LLC Acquires Shares of 2,527 AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Certior Financial Group LLC bought a new position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 2,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $449,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Howard Capital Management Group LLC raised its stake in shares of AbbVie by 20.3% in the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 2,012 shares of the company’s stock worth $397,000 after buying an additional 339 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of AbbVie by 12.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,487,363 shares of the company’s stock valued at $491,204,000 after purchasing an additional 273,078 shares in the last quarter. United Bank purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie in the third quarter valued at $217,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 199.6% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 710 shares of the company’s stock worth $140,000 after buying an additional 473 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kensington Investment Counsel LLC increased its stake in AbbVie by 1.0% during the third quarter. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC now owns 30,872 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,097,000 after acquiring an additional 316 shares during the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AbbVie Price Performance

Shares of ABBV opened at $186.58 on Monday. AbbVie Inc. has a one year low of $153.58 and a one year 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 firm has a market capitalization of $330.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 77.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.55. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $200.61 and its 200-day moving average is $189.18.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share 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 previous year, the firm earned $2.79 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.52%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is 273.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABBV has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial increased their price target on AbbVie from $211.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 price objective (up from $218.00) on shares of AbbVie in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of AbbVie from $212.00 to $214.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group raised their price objective on AbbVie from $181.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of AbbVie from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $211.45.

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In other AbbVie news, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,985,223.60. This represents a 40.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total value of $1,143,466.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,429,199.90. This trade represents a 20.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 113,471 shares of company stock worth $23,426,451 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

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.