Novare Capital Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Novare Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 10.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 58,192 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,341 shares during the quarter. Novare Capital Management LLC's holdings in AbbVie were worth $10,341,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Groupama Asset Managment increased its position in AbbVie by 40.3% during the 3rd 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 bought a new position in shares of AbbVie during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in AbbVie during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in AbbVie during the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. lifted 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 during the period. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on ABBV shares. Leerink Partnrs upgraded AbbVie from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays raised their price target on shares of AbbVie from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Bank of America reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $191.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler Companies restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AbbVie currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $205.50.

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.

AbbVie Stock Performance

ABBV traded up $6.60 during trading on Monday, reaching $176.90. 6,984,200 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,118,210. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.54. AbbVie Inc. has a 1 year low of $153.58 and a 1 year high of $207.32. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $175.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $184.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $312.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.58.

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

AbbVie Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.71%. This is a positive change from AbbVie's previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 227.78%.

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.