AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) Shares Purchased by Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lifted its stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 9.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 215,333 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,051 shares during the quarter. AbbVie accounts for approximately 1.5% of Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $38,265,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ABBV. Groupama Asset Managment raised its stake in AbbVie by 40.3% during the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 135,749 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 38,974 shares during the period. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in AbbVie in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of AbbVie during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total value of $1,143,466.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,381 shares in the company, valued at $4,429,199.90. This trade represents a 20.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 54,639 shares of company stock valued at $11,067,025. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on ABBV. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 target price (up from $218.00) on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $211.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $224.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of AbbVie from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of AbbVie to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, AbbVie has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $211.45.

AbbVie Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of ABBV opened at $209.25 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $195.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $188.73. AbbVie Inc. has a twelve month low of $153.58 and a twelve month high of $218.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $369.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 87.19, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94.

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

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.14%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 273.33%.

AbbVie Company 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.