APG Asset Management N.V. Boosts Holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

APG Asset Management N.V. boosted its stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 425.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,768,847 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,432,074 shares during the period. AbbVie makes up 0.8% of APG Asset Management N.V.’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. APG Asset Management N.V.’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $303,548,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,459,385,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth about $1,190,951,000. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of AbbVie by 32.8% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,097,375 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,215,903,000 after purchasing an additional 4,466,971 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of AbbVie by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 27,436,133 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,875,401,000 after purchasing an additional 3,599,336 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 24.3% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 17,246,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,064,773,000 after buying an additional 3,373,156 shares in the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABBV has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 price objective (up from $218.00) on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on AbbVie from $211.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on AbbVie from $212.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Erste Group Bank raised AbbVie to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of AbbVie from $224.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.45.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Jeffrey Ryan Stewart sold 58,832 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.08, for a total transaction of $12,359,426.56. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 53,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,183,398.72. This represents a 52.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was 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 directly owns 22,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,429,199.90. The trade was a 20.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 113,471 shares of company stock worth $23,426,451 in the last 90 days. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

AbbVie Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE ABBV opened at $186.11 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $200.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $189.13. AbbVie Inc. has a twelve month low of $153.58 and a twelve month high of $218.66. The company has a market capitalization of $329.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 77.55, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.55.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company posted $2.79 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.