Voya Investment Management LLC Sells 336,891 Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Voya Investment Management LLC lessened its position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 13.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,100,912 shares of the company’s stock after selling 336,891 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC owned about 0.12% of AbbVie worth $373,197,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABBV. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. EnRich Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 196.4% during the 4th quarter. EnRich Financial Partners LLC now owns 166 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in AbbVie in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in AbbVie during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In other AbbVie news, EVP Jeffrey Ryan Stewart sold 58,832 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.08, for a total value of $12,359,426.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 53,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,183,398.72. This trade represents a 52.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,429,199.90. The trade was a 20.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 113,471 shares of company stock worth $23,426,451 in the last quarter. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

AbbVie Stock Performance

AbbVie stock opened at $177.28 on Thursday. 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 1 year low of $153.58 and a 1 year high of $218.66. The company’s 50-day moving average is $197.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $187.37. The company has a market cap of $313.60 billion, a PE ratio of 73.87, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.55.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 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 in the prior year, the business earned $2.79 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share 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 issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 273.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group boosted their target price on AbbVie from $181.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of AbbVie from $200.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $210.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup raised their price target on AbbVie from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $214.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued 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 $211.19.

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.