Board of the Pension Protection Fund Raises Stock Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Board of the Pension Protection Fund raised its position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 72.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,300 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,800 shares during the quarter. AbbVie comprises 1.0% of Board of the Pension Protection Fund's portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Board of the Pension Protection Fund's holdings in AbbVie were worth $901,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,459,385,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in AbbVie by 25,841.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 10,234,737 shares of the company's stock worth $2,144,382,000 after acquiring an additional 10,195,284 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,190,951,000. FMR LLC raised its position in AbbVie by 32.8% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,097,375 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,215,903,000 after purchasing an additional 4,466,971 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 27,436,133 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,875,401,000 after purchasing an additional 3,599,336 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Jeffrey Ryan Stewart sold 58,832 shares of AbbVie 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 53,234 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,183,398.72. The trade was a 52.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

AbbVie Stock Down 2.6%

Shares of AbbVie stock traded down $4.90 during trading on Friday, hitting $181.89. 29,262,557 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,318,618. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14. AbbVie Inc. has a 52-week low of $163.52 and a 52-week high of $218.66. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $186.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $187.88. The firm has a market cap of $321.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.50.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $13.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.91 billion. AbbVie had a return on equity of 412.03% and a net margin of 7.31%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.31 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.61%. AbbVie's payout ratio is currently 279.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ABBV. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on AbbVie from $241.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of AbbVie to $204.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of AbbVie to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of AbbVie from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of AbbVie to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AbbVie has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $211.29.

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.