Principal Securities Inc. Buys 5,248 Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Principal Securities Inc. increased its stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 13.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 45,690 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,248 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc.'s holdings in AbbVie were worth $8,119,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ABBV. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its position in shares of AbbVie by 40.3% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 135,749 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 38,974 shares during the last quarter. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in AbbVie in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. increased its position in AbbVie by 100.0% during the 3rd 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 and hedge funds own 70.23% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In other news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 1,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.24, for a total transaction of $310,032.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,983 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,202,751.92. The trade was a 20.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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AbbVie Stock Performance

Shares of ABBV stock traded up $1.05 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $197.30. The company had a trading volume of 4,888,699 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,864,376. The firm has a market cap of $348.66 billion, a PE ratio of 82.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.58. AbbVie Inc. has a one year low of $153.58 and a one year 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. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $179.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $186.11.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 257.91% and a net margin of 7.59%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.79 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio is presently 273.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on ABBV shares. Guggenheim raised their price target on AbbVie from $212.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial raised their price objective on AbbVie from $211.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $181.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on AbbVie from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Bank of America restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $191.00 price target on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Five 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 MarketBeat, AbbVie currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $208.35.

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.