AbbVie Inc. $ABBV Shares Sold by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

Key Points

• The State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D reduced its stake in AbbVie Inc. by 8.6%, selling 56,088 shares, and now holds approximately 0.6% of the company's stock, valued at $124.5 million.
• Wall Street analysts are optimistic about AbbVie, with six analystseighteen as a buy, and the average target price set at $214.95.
• AbbVie recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.64 per share with an annual yield of 3.2%, although the company's current payout ratio is notably high at 312.38%.

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D trimmed its position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 8.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 594,242 shares of the company's stock after selling 56,088 shares during the period. AbbVie comprises 0.6% of State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D's investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D's holdings in AbbVie were worth $124,506,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Abound Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH grew its position in shares of AbbVie by 197.6% in 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 last quarter. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 1st quarter worth approximately $42,000. 70.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on ABBV shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on AbbVie from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Daiwa America upgraded AbbVie from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded AbbVie from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $214.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on AbbVie from $216.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded AbbVie to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AbbVie has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $214.95.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 42,370 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.42, for a total value of $8,407,055.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 177,292 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,178,278.64. This represents a 19.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.51, for a total value of $2,639,190.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 58,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,562,611.97. This trade represents a 18.58% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

AbbVie Stock Performance

NYSE:ABBV traded down $0.46 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $206.23. 5,900,478 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,691,880. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $191.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $192.31. AbbVie Inc. has a one year low of $163.81 and a one year high of $218.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14. The firm has a market cap of $364.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 98.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.50.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 6.45% and a return on equity of 699.66%. 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 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th were given a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio is 312.38%.

AbbVie Company 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.