Carret Asset Management LLC Has $10.55 Million Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Carret Asset Management LLC lessened its position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV – Get Rating) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 65,273 shares of the company’s stock after selling 399 shares during the period. AbbVie accounts for about 1.5% of Carret Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Carret Asset Management LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $10,549,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. GYL Financial Synergies LLC grew its stake in AbbVie by 0.7% in the third quarter. GYL Financial Synergies LLC now owns 10,051 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,349,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Syntal Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Syntal Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,811 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,048,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Headinvest LLC grew its position in AbbVie by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Headinvest LLC now owns 14,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,934,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC increased its stake in AbbVie by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 5,980 shares of the company’s stock valued at $803,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Libra Wealth LLC raised its holdings in AbbVie by 2.5% during the third quarter. Libra Wealth LLC now owns 3,135 shares of the company’s stock worth $421,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.71% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on ABBV shares. Atlantic Securities decreased their target price on shares of AbbVie from $157.00 to $154.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 10th. Guggenheim initiated coverage on shares of AbbVie in a report on Tuesday, February 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $172.00 target price on the stock. SVB Leerink upgraded shares of AbbVie from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $153.00 in a report on Friday, February 10th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of AbbVie from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 22nd. They noted that the move was a valuation call. Finally, Piper Jaffray Companies upped their target price on shares of AbbVie from $157.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 10th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AbbVie currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $161.12.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Elaine K. Sorg sold 15,003 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total transaction of $2,325,465.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 42,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,638,495. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Jeffrey Ryan Stewart sold 53,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.28, for a total value of $8,089,875.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 60,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,280,095.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Elaine K. Sorg sold 15,003 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total transaction of $2,325,465.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 42,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,638,495. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 159,746 shares of company stock valued at $24,267,450 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE:ABBV opened at $154.22 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.42, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market cap of $272.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.62. AbbVie Inc. has a 52 week low of $134.09 and a 52 week high of $175.91. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $151.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $150.82.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 9th. The company reported $3.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.54 by $0.06. AbbVie had a net margin of 20.39% and a return on equity of 154.52%. The firm had revenue of $15.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.31 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 14th will be given a dividend of $1.48 per share. This represents a $5.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.84%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 13th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is currently 89.56%.

AbbVie Company Profile

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AbbVie, Inc is a research-based biopharmaceutical company, which engages in the development and sale of pharmaceutical products. It focuses on treating conditions such as chronic autoimmune diseases in rheumatology, gastroenterology, and dermatology, oncology, including blood cancers, virology, hepatitis C virus (HCV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), neurological disorders, such as Parkinson’s, metabolic, comprising thyroid disease and complications associated with cystic fibrosis, pain associated with endometriosis, and other serious health conditions.