Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Boosts Stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 12.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 252,759 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 27,937 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $44,915,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Groupama Asset Managment grew its holdings in AbbVie by 40.3% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 135,749 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 38,974 shares during the period. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in AbbVie in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in AbbVie in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Stock Up 1.8 %

ABBV stock opened at $214.55 on Monday. AbbVie Inc. has a one year low of $153.58 and a one year high of $215.66. The firm has a market cap of $378.75 billion, a PE ratio of 89.40, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $187.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $187.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.66.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.98 by ($0.82). AbbVie had a net margin of 7.59% and a return on equity of 296.28%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.79 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 273.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at AbbVie

In other news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 1,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.24, for a total transaction of $310,032.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,983 shares in the company, valued at $1,202,751.92. This trade represents a 20.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.90, for a total value of $6,070,159.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,985,223.60. The trade was a 40.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 56,439 shares of company stock worth $11,377,057 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $200.00 to $223.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Daiwa Capital Markets cut AbbVie from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on AbbVie from $224.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on AbbVie from $212.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on AbbVie from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $211.45.

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.