Sawgrass Asset Management LLC Buys 19,136 Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Sawgrass Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 25.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 93,748 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,136 shares during the period. AbbVie accounts for about 1.6% of Sawgrass Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $14,528,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ABBV. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of AbbVie by 39.5% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 286 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Horrell Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its position in AbbVie by 459.7% during the 3rd quarter. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 347 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bourgeon Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in AbbVie by 240.0% in the 4th quarter. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC now owns 340 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $188.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Barclays reduced their price target on AbbVie from $195.00 to $187.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on AbbVie from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on AbbVie from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, William Blair upgraded shares of AbbVie from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.31.

AbbVie Stock Performance

ABBV stock traded down $2.15 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $160.40. 5,906,428 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,662,472. AbbVie Inc. has a 52 week low of $130.96 and a 52 week high of $182.89. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $172.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $161.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.02, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $283.25 billion, a PE ratio of 47.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.61.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $12.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.93 billion. AbbVie had a net margin of 11.02% and a return on equity of 165.18%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.46 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 11.29 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $1.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.87%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 183.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 21,082 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.30, for a total value of $3,716,756.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 55,903 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,855,698.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other AbbVie news, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 21,082 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.30, for a total transaction of $3,716,756.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 55,903 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,855,698.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 5,144 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.65, for a total value of $908,687.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,983 shares in the company, valued at $1,233,546.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 383,324 shares of company stock worth $67,780,003 in the last quarter. 0.25% of the stock is 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.