AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) Shares Sold by Bahl & Gaynor Inc.

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,343,889 shares of the company’s stock after selling 111,042 shares during the quarter. AbbVie makes up about 3.1% of Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. owned about 0.19% of AbbVie worth $518,202,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 29,922.3% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,032,374 shares of the company’s stock valued at $899,186,000 after purchasing an additional 6,012,281 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at $499,955,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 160,747,355 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,961,001,000 after purchasing an additional 1,450,089 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in AbbVie by 201.7% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,143,910 shares of the company’s stock worth $332,242,000 after acquiring an additional 1,433,236 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in AbbVie by 34.6% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,397,309 shares of the company’s stock worth $655,463,000 after acquiring an additional 1,130,638 shares in the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AbbVie Trading Down 4.6 %

Shares of ABBV opened at $159.62 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $174.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $160.74. The company has a market capitalization of $282.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.02, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.76. AbbVie Inc. has a 1-year low of $130.96 and a 1-year high of $182.89.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $12.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.93 billion. AbbVie had a net margin of 8.95% and a return on equity of 162.28%. AbbVie’s quarterly revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.46 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.55 per share. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 227.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on ABBV shares. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of AbbVie from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of AbbVie from $188.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $181.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $187.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, William Blair upgraded shares of AbbVie from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AbbVie currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $177.43.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 21,082 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.30, for a total value of $3,716,756.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,903 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,855,698.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 52,870 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.71, for a total transaction of $9,184,047.70. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 243,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,375,512.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 21,082 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.30, for a total transaction of $3,716,756.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 55,903 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,855,698.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 383,324 shares of company stock valued at $67,780,003. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.