Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super Acquires Shares of 142,102 AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super bought a new position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 142,102 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,252,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ABBV. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in AbbVie in the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,459,385,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at $1,190,951,000. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in AbbVie by 32.8% during 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 in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position 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 valued at $4,875,401,000 after buying an additional 3,599,336 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in AbbVie by 24.3% in the fourth 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 owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ABBV has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group raised their target price on AbbVie from $181.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com cut AbbVie from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Citigroup increased their target price on AbbVie from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of AbbVie from $212.00 to $214.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $200.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $210.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at AbbVie

In other AbbVie news, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,429,199.90. This represents a 20.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.90, for a total value of $6,070,159.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,985,223.60. This represents a 40.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 113,471 shares of company stock worth $23,426,451. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Price Performance

AbbVie stock opened at $174.90 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $200.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $188.47. AbbVie Inc. has a 12 month low of $153.58 and a 12 month high of $218.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $309.39 billion, a PE ratio of 72.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.55.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 last year, the firm posted $2.79 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio 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.