Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Purchases 129,355 Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 69.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 316,120 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 129,355 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $48,989,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of AbbVie by 39.5% during the third quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 286 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. Horrell Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in AbbVie during the third quarter valued at about $45,000. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in AbbVie by 459.7% during the third quarter. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 347 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bourgeon Capital Management LLC raised its position in AbbVie by 240.0% in the fourth quarter. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC now owns 340 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the period. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AbbVie news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 5,144 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.65, for a total value of $908,687.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,233,546.95. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other AbbVie news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 5,144 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.65, for a total transaction of $908,687.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,233,546.95. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 9,891 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.39, for a total value of $1,754,564.49. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,397 shares in the company, valued at $1,844,323.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 383,324 shares of company stock worth $67,780,003. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of AbbVie from $195.00 to $187.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Guggenheim raised their target price on AbbVie from $188.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Raymond James boosted their target price on AbbVie from $181.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. William Blair upgraded AbbVie from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on AbbVie from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.31.

AbbVie Price Performance

NYSE:ABBV traded up $3.00 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $163.81. 5,849,883 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,662,264. AbbVie Inc. has a 12-month low of $130.96 and a 12-month high of $182.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.02. The company has a market cap of $290.05 billion, a PE ratio of 48.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.61. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $173.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $161.10.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $12.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.93 billion. AbbVie had a net margin of 11.02% and a return on equity of 165.18%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.46 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 11.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.55 per share. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. AbbVie’s payout ratio is 183.98%.

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.