AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) Shares Acquired by Ameritas Advisory Services LLC

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 18.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,936 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 3,657 shares during the quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC's holdings in AbbVie were worth $4,254,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ABBV. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 40.3% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 135,749 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 38,974 shares during the last quarter. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie in the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in AbbVie by 100.0% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 200 shares of the company's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AbbVie Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE ABBV traded down $2.21 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $171.49. 7,581,211 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,943,678. The stock has a market capitalization of $303.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.55, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.65. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $175.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $184.75. AbbVie Inc. has a twelve month low of $153.58 and a twelve month high of $207.32.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $3.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.92 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $14.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.28 billion. AbbVie had a return on equity of 244.01% and a net margin of 9.22%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.95 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be given a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. This is a boost from AbbVie's previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.83%. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 215.28%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 1,800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.24, for a total transaction of $310,032.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,983 shares in the company, valued at $1,202,751.92. This trade represents a 20.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABBV has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $226.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Guggenheim increased their price target on AbbVie from $212.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on AbbVie from $228.00 to $208.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Argus raised AbbVie from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets cut shares of AbbVie from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $180.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, AbbVie currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $205.50.

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.