Vertex Planning Partners LLC Buys 5,721 Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Vertex Planning Partners LLC lifted its position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 56.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,941 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,721 shares during the quarter. Vertex Planning Partners LLC's holdings in AbbVie were worth $2,833,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in AbbVie in the fourth quarter worth $4,459,385,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth $1,190,951,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 27,436,133 shares of the company's stock worth $4,875,401,000 after buying an additional 3,599,336 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its position in AbbVie by 35.9% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 5,687,472 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,008,867,000 after buying an additional 1,503,875 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in AbbVie by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 173,072,078 shares of the company's stock worth $30,754,908,000 after buying an additional 1,424,237 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total value of $1,143,466.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,381 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,429,199.90. The trade was a 20.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.90, for a total transaction of $6,070,159.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,284 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,985,223.60. The trade was a 40.32 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 54,639 shares of company stock valued at $11,067,025. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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AbbVie Price Performance

Shares of ABBV stock traded up $1.48 during trading on Monday, hitting $206.77. The company had a trading volume of 3,350,405 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,695,773. The stock's 50-day moving average is $197.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $188.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $365.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 86.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. AbbVie Inc. has a 52 week low of $153.58 and a 52 week high of $218.66.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.79 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio is presently 273.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Daiwa America cut shares of AbbVie from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on AbbVie from $212.00 to $214.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on AbbVie from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on AbbVie from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on AbbVie from $224.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $211.45.

About AbbVie

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.