Natixis Cuts Stock Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Natixis lessened its position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 80.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 75,613 shares of the company’s stock after selling 313,257 shares during the period. Natixis’ holdings in AbbVie were worth $13,436,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 173,072,078 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,754,908,000 after purchasing an additional 1,424,237 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of AbbVie by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 37,144,933 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,586,948,000 after acquiring an additional 983,888 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 33,983,707 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,038,898,000 after acquiring an additional 778,126 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew 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 acquiring an additional 3,599,336 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth $4,459,385,000. 70.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ABBV. Citigroup raised their price target on AbbVie from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $200.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $194.00 price target on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Erste Group Bank upgraded AbbVie to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 target price (up previously from $218.00) on shares of AbbVie in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $210.71.

AbbVie Stock Performance

Shares of ABBV stock opened at $172.78 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $198.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $187.76. 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 52 week low of $153.58 and a 52 week high of $218.66. The company has a market cap of $305.64 billion, a PE ratio of 71.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.55.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted its earnings results 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 period last year, the business posted $2.79 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.80%. AbbVie’s payout ratio is currently 273.33%.

Insider Transactions at AbbVie

In other AbbVie news, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was 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. This represents a 20.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 ninety days, insiders have sold 113,471 shares of company stock valued at $23,426,451. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by 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.