Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Sells 31,981 Shares of AbbVie Inc. $ABBV

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. reduced its holdings in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 14.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 183,352 shares of the company’s stock after selling 31,981 shares during the period. AbbVie accounts for approximately 1.5% of Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $38,416,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. TD Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in AbbVie by 82.9% in the first quarter. TD Capital Management LLC now owns 128 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Abound Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH grew its position in shares of AbbVie by 197.6% during the 4th quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 179,440 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 119,141 shares during the period. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at AbbVie

In related news, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.51, for a total transaction of $2,639,190.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 58,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,562,611.97. The trade was a 18.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 42,370 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.42, for a total transaction of $8,407,055.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 177,292 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,178,278.64. The trade was a 19.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ABBV opened at $212.34 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $375.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 101.11, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.74. AbbVie Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $163.81 and a fifty-two week high of $218.66. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $197.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $194.08.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.97 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.24 by ($0.27). The company had revenue of $15.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.93 billion. AbbVie had a return on equity of 699.66% and a net margin of 6.45%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.65 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate 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 Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 15th. AbbVie’s payout ratio is currently 312.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABBV has been the subject of a number of research reports. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of AbbVie from $216.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Daiwa America raised shares of AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Citigroup boosted their target price on AbbVie to $205.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Monday, August 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler started coverage on AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $231.00 price objective for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $214.95.

About AbbVie

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.