Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Has $516.20 Million Stock Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 9.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,848,490 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 242,366 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned about 0.16% of AbbVie worth $516,203,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ABBV. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of AbbVie by 30.4% in the fourth quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 223 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Physicians Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in AbbVie by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Physicians Financial Services Inc. now owns 12,150 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,159,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. raised its position in AbbVie by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 9,842 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,749,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Doliver Advisors LP lifted its stake in AbbVie by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Doliver Advisors LP now owns 5,276 shares of the company’s stock valued at $938,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC grew its stake in shares of AbbVie by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC now owns 1,197 shares of the company’s stock worth $213,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of AbbVie from $211.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group boosted their target price on AbbVie from $181.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on AbbVie from $224.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on AbbVie from $212.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price objective on AbbVie from $212.00 to $214.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $211.45.

AbbVie Price Performance

ABBV stock opened at $201.16 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $196.25 and a 200-day moving average of $188.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $355.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 83.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. AbbVie Inc. has a 12 month low of $153.58 and a 12 month high of $218.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.79 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie’s payout ratio is 273.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total value of $1,143,466.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 18,944 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.41, for a total transaction of $3,853,399.04. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,496 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,338,401.36. The trade was a 62.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 54,639 shares of company stock worth $11,067,025 in the last ninety days. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.