GoalVest Advisory LLC Sells 288 Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

GoalVest Advisory LLC lowered its position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,572 shares of the company’s stock after selling 288 shares during the quarter. AbbVie accounts for approximately 0.8% of GoalVest Advisory LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. GoalVest Advisory LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $2,680,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Schear Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $267,000. Spinnaker Investment Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Spinnaker Investment Group LLC now owns 3,731 shares of the company’s stock worth $737,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. Accredited Investors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 18.6% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 7,932 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,566,000 after purchasing an additional 1,246 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 21,135 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,174,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, River Street Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 12.5% in the 3rd quarter. River Street Advisors LLC now owns 10,595 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,092,000 after purchasing an additional 1,179 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Stock Performance

NYSE ABBV opened at $164.99 on Friday. AbbVie Inc. has a 52-week low of $137.05 and a 52-week high of $207.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.65. The company has a market capitalization of $291.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a fifty day moving average of $192.04 and a 200-day moving average of $180.91.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $3.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.92 by $0.08. AbbVie had a net margin of 9.22% and a return on equity of 244.01%. The company had revenue of $14.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.95 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be paid a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. This is an increase from AbbVie’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.98%. AbbVie’s payout ratio is currently 227.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup lowered 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. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $228.00 to $208.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Friday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $205.00 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AbbVie currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $203.89.

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.