SBI Securities Co. Ltd. Takes Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 63,070 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,208,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Groupama Asset Managment raised its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 40.3% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 135,749 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 38,974 shares during the period. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in AbbVie during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in AbbVie in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in AbbVie during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total transaction 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 approximately $4,429,199.90. This represents a 20.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.90, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 40.32 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 56,439 shares of company stock worth $11,377,057 over the last quarter. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABBV has been the topic of a number of research reports. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on AbbVie from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup upped their target price on AbbVie from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on AbbVie from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler Companies restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of AbbVie in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Five research 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. According to MarketBeat, AbbVie currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $208.35.

AbbVie Trading Up 2.0 %

NYSE:ABBV opened at $209.07 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $369.09 billion, a PE ratio of 87.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.58. The business’s 50 day moving average is $184.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $186.95. 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 Inc. has a 52 week low of $153.58 and a 52 week high of $209.60.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) 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 prior year, the firm earned $2.79 EPS. On average, analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio 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.