Hi Line Capital Management LLC Reduces Stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Hi Line Capital Management LLC lessened its position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 8.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 35,477 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,419 shares during the quarter. AbbVie accounts for 2.1% of Hi Line Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Hi Line Capital Management LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $5,498,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ABBV. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. raised its stake in AbbVie by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. now owns 23,346 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,480,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the period. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 17,043 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,641,000 after buying an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Torray Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of AbbVie by 13.0% during the third quarter. Torray Investment Partners LLC now owns 21,190 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,159,000 after acquiring an additional 2,446 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. grew its stake in AbbVie by 21.3% during the third quarter. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. now owns 26,409 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,936,000 after acquiring an additional 4,633 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in AbbVie by 17.6% in the 4th quarter. Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,668 shares of the company’s stock valued at $413,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on ABBV shares. William Blair upgraded AbbVie from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Barclays lowered their target price on AbbVie from $195.00 to $187.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of AbbVie from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $188.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $181.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 5,144 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.65, for a total value of $908,687.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,233,546.95. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 5,144 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 6,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,233,546.95. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard A. Gonzalez sold 138,616 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.27, for a total value of $24,572,458.32. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 519,099 shares in the company, valued at $92,020,679.73. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 383,324 shares of company stock worth $67,780,003 in the last three months. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

AbbVie Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE ABBV opened at $160.45 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $172.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $161.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $283.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.61, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.61. AbbVie Inc. has a 52-week low of $130.96 and a 52-week high of $182.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.02, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.87.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.05. AbbVie had a return on equity of 165.18% and a net margin of 11.02%. The business had revenue of $12.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.46 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 11.29 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a $1.55 dividend. This represents a $6.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 183.98%.

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.