AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) Shares Sold by Virtue Capital Management LLC

Virtue Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,756 shares of the company’s stock after selling 315 shares during the quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $939,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. GGM Financials LLC increased its stake in AbbVie by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. GGM Financials LLC now owns 6,895 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,362,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc grew its stake in shares of AbbVie by 0.3% during the third quarter. Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc now owns 18,102 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,575,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Dillon & Associates Inc. increased its position in shares of AbbVie by 0.8% during the third quarter. Dillon & Associates Inc. now owns 6,914 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,362,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Frisch Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 0.8% in the second quarter. Frisch Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,187,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Citizens Financial Corp boosted its holdings in AbbVie by 0.9% in the third quarter. First Citizens Financial Corp now owns 5,777 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,141,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AbbVie Trading Down 0.5 %

AbbVie stock opened at $175.76 on Wednesday. AbbVie Inc. has a 52-week low of $150.16 and a 52-week high of $207.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $310.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.03, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.58. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $186.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $182.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $3.00 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.92 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $14.46 billion for 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%. AbbVie’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.95 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.95 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be issued a $1.64 dividend. This is a positive change from AbbVie’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.73%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is 215.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on ABBV shares. Leerink Partners upgraded AbbVie from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $206.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of AbbVie from $228.00 to $208.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of AbbVie from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $202.19.

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.