AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) Shares Acquired by National Pension Service

National Pension Service boosted its holdings in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,812,107 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 54,185 shares during the quarter. AbbVie comprises approximately 0.6% of National Pension Service’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest position. National Pension Service owned about 0.16% of AbbVie worth $435,792,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in AbbVie by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 160,747,355 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,961,001,000 after buying an additional 1,450,089 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in AbbVie by 2.9% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 32,175,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,796,085,000 after acquiring an additional 914,485 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 24,451,975 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,774,569,000 after acquiring an additional 1,702,415 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of AbbVie by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 21,936,279 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,269,822,000 after purchasing an additional 491,391 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of AbbVie by 1.4% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 14,066,082 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,098,436,000 after acquiring an additional 199,833 shares during the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AbbVie Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABBV traded up $0.10 on Thursday, hitting $160.55. The company had a trading volume of 1,024,470 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,610,554. The stock has a market cap of $283.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.61. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $172.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $161.62. AbbVie Inc. has a 1-year low of $130.96 and a 1-year high of $182.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.02.

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

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The business 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.86%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. AbbVie’s payout ratio is 183.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ABBV. Barclays cut their price target on AbbVie from $195.00 to $187.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of AbbVie from $181.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 29th. William Blair raised shares of AbbVie from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price target on AbbVie from $188.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AbbVie presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.31.

Insider Buying and Selling at AbbVie

In other news, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 52,870 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.71, for a total value of $9,184,047.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 243,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,375,512.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 5,144 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.65, for a total transaction of $908,687.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,233,546.95. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 52,870 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.71, for a total value of $9,184,047.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 243,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,375,512.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 383,324 shares of company stock worth $67,780,003 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

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.