AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) Shares Sold by Westchester Capital Management Inc.

Westchester Capital Management Inc. reduced its position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 104,148 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,442 shares during the period. AbbVie accounts for approximately 4.7% of Westchester Capital Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Westchester Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in AbbVie were worth $18,507,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ABBV. Groupama Asset Managment grew its stake in shares of AbbVie by 40.3% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 135,749 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 38,974 shares during the period. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the third quarter worth $28,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on ABBV shares. Citigroup boosted their target price on AbbVie from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wolfe Research started coverage on AbbVie in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $205.00 target price for the company. Raymond James reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $220.00 target price (up from $218.00) on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Guggenheim boosted their price target on AbbVie from $212.00 to $214.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on AbbVie from $224.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AbbVie currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $211.45.

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AbbVie Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:ABBV opened at $213.71 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $377.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 89.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. AbbVie Inc. has a 1 year low of $153.58 and a 1 year high of $218.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $189.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $187.73.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 period last year, the company posted $2.79 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie's payout ratio is presently 273.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,985,223.60. This represents a 40.32 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,381 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,429,199.90. The trade was a 20.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 56,439 shares of company stock worth $11,377,057 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

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.

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