StoneX Group Inc. Increases Stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

StoneX Group Inc. grew its holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 46.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 47,991 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 15,271 shares during the period. StoneX Group Inc.’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $8,528,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Groupama Asset Managment increased its holdings in AbbVie by 40.3% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 135,749 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 38,974 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in AbbVie during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of AbbVie in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Price Performance

Shares of AbbVie stock opened at $209.83 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $371.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 87.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.66. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $198.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $189.02. AbbVie Inc. has a one year low of $153.58 and a one year high of $218.66.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 in the previous year, the business earned $2.79 EPS. Equities analysts expect 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. Investors 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 yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 273.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.90, for a total value of $6,070,159.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,985,223.60. This trade represents a 40.32 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total transaction of $1,143,466.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,429,199.90. This trade represents a 20.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 54,639 shares of company stock valued at $11,067,025 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABBV has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of AbbVie from $181.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on AbbVie from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Bank of America boosted their price target on AbbVie from $200.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Erste Group Bank upgraded AbbVie to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets cut shares of AbbVie from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $211.45.

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.