Straightline Group LLC Makes New Investment in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Straightline Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 1,360 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $242,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in AbbVie by 30.4% during the fourth quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 223 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Physicians Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Physicians Financial Services Inc. now owns 12,150 shares of the company's stock worth $2,159,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of AbbVie by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 9,842 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,749,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Doliver Advisors LP increased its stake in AbbVie by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Doliver Advisors LP now owns 5,276 shares of the company's stock valued at $938,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC raised its position in AbbVie by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC now owns 1,197 shares of the company's stock worth $213,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.23% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on ABBV shares. Piper Sandler Companies reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of AbbVie from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of AbbVie from $181.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $194.00 price target on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Raymond James reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $220.00 price objective (up previously from $218.00) on shares of AbbVie in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $210.71.

AbbVie Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of ABBV traded up $0.70 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $174.90. The stock had a trading volume of 9,046,010 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,951,388. The company has a market capitalization of $309.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 72.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.55. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $200.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $188.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94. AbbVie Inc. has a 12 month low of $153.58 and a 12 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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 quarter last year, the firm earned $2.79 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.75%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 273.33%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Jeffrey Ryan Stewart sold 58,832 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 53,234 shares in the company, valued at $11,183,398.72. This represents a 52.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.90, for a total transaction of $6,070,159.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,985,223.60. This trade represents a 40.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 113,471 shares of company stock worth $23,426,451 over the last 90 days. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.