Joule Financial LLC Trims Stock Holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Joule Financial LLC decreased its holdings in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 10.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,686 shares of the company’s stock after selling 207 shares during the quarter. Joule Financial LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $300,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ABBV. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of AbbVie by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,719 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,905,000 after buying an additional 651 shares during the period. Sandy Cove Advisors LLC increased its holdings in AbbVie by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Sandy Cove Advisors LLC now owns 1,592 shares of the company’s stock worth $283,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the period. Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in AbbVie by 21.7% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC now owns 9,276 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,648,000 after purchasing an additional 1,656 shares in the last quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in AbbVie by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,706 shares of the company’s stock valued at $836,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the period. Finally, Riversedge Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of AbbVie by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC now owns 3,639 shares of the company’s stock valued at $647,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Trading Down 1.3 %

NYSE:ABBV opened at $171.49 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $303.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64. The company has a fifty day moving average of $175.78 and a 200 day moving average of $184.75. AbbVie Inc. has a 52 week low of $153.58 and a 52 week high of $207.32.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $3.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.92 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $14.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.28 billion. AbbVie had a return on equity of 244.01% and a net margin of 9.22%. AbbVie’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.95 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be issued a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.83%. This is a boost from AbbVie’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. AbbVie’s payout ratio is 215.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABBV has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on AbbVie from $215.00 to $211.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group lifted their price target on AbbVie from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $231.00 to $224.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of AbbVie from $226.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AbbVie currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at AbbVie

In other AbbVie news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 1,800 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.24, for a total transaction of $310,032.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,202,751.92. The trade was a 20.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

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.