6,702,034 Shares in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) Bought by Raymond James Financial Inc.

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 6,702,034 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,190,951,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.38% of AbbVie as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in AbbVie during the 3rd quarter worth $999,000. Saturna Capital Corp lifted its holdings in AbbVie by 486.1% during the 3rd quarter. Saturna Capital Corp now owns 676,176 shares of the company's stock worth $133,531,000 after buying an additional 560,808 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in AbbVie by 41.3% during the 4th quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 53,171 shares of the company's stock worth $9,448,000 after buying an additional 15,550 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in AbbVie by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 39,453 shares of the company's stock worth $7,011,000 after buying an additional 3,439 shares during the period. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in AbbVie by 23.5% during the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 56,556 shares of the company's stock worth $11,169,000 after buying an additional 10,768 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on ABBV shares. Morgan Stanley lifted 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. Leerink Partnrs raised AbbVie from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on AbbVie from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Guggenheim lifted their target price on AbbVie from $212.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on AbbVie from $181.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $211.45.

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In related news, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,429,199.90. This represents a 20.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.24, for a total value of $310,032.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,202,751.92. This represents a 20.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 56,439 shares of company stock worth $11,377,057. Insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

AbbVie Stock Performance

ABBV stock opened at $211.61 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $373.57 billion, a PE ratio of 88.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94. The business has a 50 day moving average of $186.27 and a 200-day moving average of $187.31. AbbVie Inc. has a 12-month low of $153.58 and a 12-month high of $215.66.

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

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.10%. AbbVie's payout ratio is 273.33%.

AbbVie Company 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.

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