Retirement Systems of Alabama Boosts Holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 988,819 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 40,235 shares during the quarter. AbbVie makes up 0.6% of Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned approximately 0.05% of AbbVie worth $153,237,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in AbbVie by 0.9% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 160,747,355 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,961,001,000 after purchasing an additional 1,450,089 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 32,175,527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,796,085,000 after buying an additional 914,485 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 21,936,279 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,269,822,000 after buying an additional 491,391 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in AbbVie by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 20,356,072 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,034,276,000 after buying an additional 352,817 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in AbbVie by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 14,066,082 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,098,436,000 after buying an additional 199,833 shares in the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AbbVie Trading Down 4.6 %

AbbVie stock traded down $7.67 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $159.62. The stock had a trading volume of 10,721,740 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,004,945. The stock has a market cap of $282.63 billion, a PE ratio of 47.37, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $174.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $160.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.02, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.76. AbbVie Inc. has a 52 week low of $130.96 and a 52 week high of $182.89.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.05. AbbVie had a net margin of 8.95% and a return on equity of 162.28%. The firm had revenue of $12.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.93 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.46 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 11.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.55 per share. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.88%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. AbbVie’s payout ratio is currently 183.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABBV has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. William Blair raised AbbVie from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of AbbVie from $181.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of AbbVie from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on AbbVie from $188.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on AbbVie from $187.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AbbVie has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $177.43.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 5,144 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.65, for a total value of $908,687.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,233,546.95. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 5,144 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.65, for a total value of $908,687.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,233,546.95. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 13,753 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.51, for a total transaction of $2,441,295.03. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 28,173 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,000,989.23. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 383,324 shares of company stock worth $67,780,003. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.