Norinchukin Bank The Raises Stock Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Norinchukin Bank The grew its holdings in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 9.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 79,816 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,893 shares during the quarter. Norinchukin Bank The’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $14,183,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,459,385,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in AbbVie during the 4th quarter valued at $1,190,951,000. FMR LLC lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 4,466,971 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in AbbVie by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 27,436,133 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,875,401,000 after buying an additional 3,599,336 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in AbbVie by 24.3% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 17,246,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,064,773,000 after acquiring an additional 3,373,156 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABBV has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of AbbVie from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Erste Group Bank upgraded AbbVie to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Bank of America increased their price target on AbbVie from $200.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on AbbVie from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on AbbVie from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AbbVie presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $210.71.

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In related news, EVP Jeffrey Ryan Stewart sold 58,832 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 53,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,183,398.72. This represents a 52.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 18,944 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.41, for a total value of $3,853,399.04. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,496 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,338,401.36. This trade represents a 62.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 113,471 shares of company stock valued at $23,426,451 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Stock Up 0.6 %

AbbVie stock opened at $172.78 on Friday. AbbVie Inc. has a twelve month low of $153.58 and a twelve month high of $218.66. The business has a fifty day moving average of $198.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $187.82. The firm has a market cap of $305.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 71.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.55. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 7.59% and a return on equity of 296.28%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.79 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.80%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 273.33%.

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.