Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Acquires 71,582 Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its stake in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,729,365 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 71,582 shares during the quarter. AbbVie makes up approximately 0.5% of Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C.’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned about 0.10% of AbbVie worth $307,308,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 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 during the period. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,110 shares of the company’s stock worth $553,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Peninsula Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Peninsula Wealth LLC now owns 1,360 shares of the company’s stock worth $242,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Physicians Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in AbbVie by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Physicians Financial Services Inc. now owns 12,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,159,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. raised its position in AbbVie by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 9,842 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,749,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at AbbVie

In other AbbVie news, EVP Jeffrey Ryan Stewart sold 58,832 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.08, for a total transaction of $12,359,426.56. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 53,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,183,398.72. The trade was a 52.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 18,944 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.41, for a total transaction of $3,853,399.04. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,496 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,338,401.36. This trade represents a 62.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 113,471 shares of company stock valued at $23,426,451. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ABBV shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on AbbVie from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 target price (up from $218.00) on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Erste Group Bank raised shares of AbbVie to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $200.00 to $223.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Seven research 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $211.19.

AbbVie Price Performance

ABBV opened at $173.72 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $197.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $187.44. AbbVie Inc. has a 12-month low of $153.58 and a 12-month high of $218.66. The firm has a market cap of $307.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 72.38, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.55. 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 (NYSE:ABBV) last released 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 return on equity of 296.28% and a net margin of 7.59%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.79 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

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. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.78%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is presently 273.33%.

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.