Empire Financial Management Company LLC Has $5.01 Million Holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Empire Financial Management Company LLC boosted its stake in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 137.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,199 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 16,329 shares during the quarter. AbbVie makes up approximately 1.6% of Empire Financial Management Company LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Empire Financial Management Company LLC's holdings in AbbVie were worth $5,011,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ABBV. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its stake in AbbVie by 20.3% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 2,012 shares of the company's stock worth $397,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 273,078 shares during the period. Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in AbbVie by 1.0% in the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,296 shares of the company's stock worth $3,403,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the period. Morse Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in AbbVie by 2.4% in the third quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 7,563 shares of the company's stock worth $1,494,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aldebaran Financial Inc. purchased a new position in AbbVie in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $466,000. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AbbVie Stock Performance

NYSE ABBV opened at $177.28 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $197.30 and a 200-day moving average of $187.37. The stock has a market cap of $313.60 billion, a PE ratio of 73.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.55. AbbVie Inc. has a 52-week low of $153.58 and a 52-week 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.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last released 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 net margin of 7.59% and a return on equity of 296.28%. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.79 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie's payout ratio is 273.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on ABBV shares. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Raymond James reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $220.00 target price (up previously from $218.00) on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup boosted their target price 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. UBS Group lifted their target price on AbbVie from $181.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $211.19.

Insider Activity

In other AbbVie news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 18,944 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.41, for a total value of $3,853,399.04. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,496 shares in the company, valued at $2,338,401.36. This represents a 62.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total transaction of $1,143,466.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,381 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 113,471 shares of company stock worth $23,426,451. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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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