Traders Sell Shares of AbbVie (ABBV) on Strength After Insider Selling

Investors sold shares of AbbVie Inc (NYSE:ABBV) on strength during trading on Friday following insider selling activity. $89.84 million flowed into the stock on the tick-up and $475.88 million flowed out of the stock on the tick-down, for a money net flow of $386.04 million out of the stock. Of all equities tracked, AbbVie had the 14th highest net out-flow for the day. AbbVie traded up $1.39 for the day and closed at $81.34Specifically, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 15,797 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.03, for a total transaction of $1,248,436.91. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 93,312 shares in the company, valued at $7,374,447.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Laura J. Schumacher sold 25,000 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $2,250,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 134,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,088,980. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 90,797 shares of company stock valued at $7,748,437. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

ABBV has been the subject of a number of research reports. Standpoint Research initiated coverage on shares of AbbVie in a report on Wednesday, December 26th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. ValuEngine upgraded shares of AbbVie from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday. Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 8th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $91.00 price objective (down previously from $97.00) on shares of AbbVie in a report on Wednesday, January 23rd. Finally, Bank of America cut shares of AbbVie from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. The stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $94.48.

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The firm has a market capitalization of $119.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.17.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 25th. The company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.92 by ($0.02). AbbVie had a negative return on equity of 439.07% and a net margin of 17.36%. The firm had revenue of $8.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.48 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that AbbVie Inc will post 8.68 earnings per share for the current year.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.07 per share. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.26%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.11%.

AbbVie declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, December 13th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 3.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Eagle Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of AbbVie by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 34,102 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,225,000 after buying an additional 769 shares during the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of AbbVie by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 38,217 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,615,000 after buying an additional 3,444 shares during the last quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. lifted its position in shares of AbbVie by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 41,587 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,934,000 after buying an additional 1,141 shares during the last quarter. MainStreet Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of AbbVie by 17.2% during the 3rd quarter. MainStreet Investment Advisors LLC now owns 101,560 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,606,000 after buying an additional 14,916 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lifted its position in shares of AbbVie by 15.9% during the 3rd quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 1,310,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $123,900,000 after buying an additional 180,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.40% of the company’s stock.

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About AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV)

AbbVie Inc discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells pharmaceutical products worldwide. The company offers HUMIRA, a therapy administered as an injection for autoimmune diseases; IMBRUVICA, an oral therapy for treating chronic lymphocytic leukemia; and VIEKIRA PAK, an interferon-free therapy to treat adults with genotype 1 chronic hepatitis C.

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