Fayez Sarofim & Co Has $392.04 Million Stock Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Fayez Sarofim & Co raised its stake in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 7.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,206,188 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 153,294 shares during the period. Fayez Sarofim & Co owned approximately 0.12% of AbbVie worth $392,040,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. EnRich Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 196.4% in the 4th quarter. EnRich Financial Partners LLC now owns 166 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in AbbVie in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AbbVie Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABBV traded up $3.50 on Wednesday, hitting $177.28. The stock had a trading volume of 7,116,632 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,025,439. The company has a market capitalization of $313.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 73.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.66. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $197.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $187.37. AbbVie Inc. has a twelve month low of $153.58 and a twelve month high of $218.66.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last issued 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 return on equity of 296.28% and a net margin of 7.59%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.79 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a $1.64 dividend. 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 presently 273.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABBV has been the topic of several recent research reports. Erste Group Bank raised shares of AbbVie to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. UBS Group increased their price objective on AbbVie from $181.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com cut AbbVie from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday. They set an "overweight" rating and a $210.00 target price for the company. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, AbbVie presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $211.19.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of AbbVie 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 sale, the executive vice president now 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jeffrey Ryan Stewart sold 58,832 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.08, for a total value of $12,359,426.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 53,234 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,183,398.72. The trade was a 52.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 113,471 shares of company stock valued at $23,426,451. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

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.