AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) Shares Sold by Fifth Third Bancorp

Fifth Third Bancorp decreased its holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 9.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,468,193 shares of the company's stock after selling 151,013 shares during the period. AbbVie accounts for about 0.9% of Fifth Third Bancorp's portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Fifth Third Bancorp owned approximately 0.08% of AbbVie worth $260,898,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Groupama Asset Managment raised its position in AbbVie by 40.3% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 135,749 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 38,974 shares during the period. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in AbbVie in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC bought a new position in AbbVie in the third quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. grew its stake in AbbVie by 100.0% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 200 shares of the company's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AbbVie Stock Performance

ABBV stock traded down $0.62 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $170.05. The stock had a trading volume of 5,584,343 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,522,214. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $175.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $184.77. The stock has a market cap of $300.51 billion, a PE ratio of 59.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.58. AbbVie Inc. has a 52-week low of $153.58 and a 52-week high of $207.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.65.

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

AbbVie Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be paid a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. This is a positive change from AbbVie's previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. AbbVie's payout ratio is currently 227.78%.

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In related news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 1,800 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.24, for a total value of $310,032.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,983 shares in the company, valued at $1,202,751.92. The trade was a 20.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABBV has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on AbbVie to $195.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on AbbVie from $215.00 to $211.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on AbbVie from $212.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Leerink Partnrs raised AbbVie from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on AbbVie in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $205.00 target price on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, AbbVie presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $205.50.

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.