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

Key Points

• Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. sold 31,981 shares of AbbVie Inc., reducing its holdings by 14.9% to 183,352 shares, which account for about 1.5% of its investment portfolio.
• Several hedge funds increased their positions in AbbVie, with TD Capital Management LLC boosting its holdings by 82.9% during the same quarter.
• AbbVie recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.64 per share, representing an annual yield of 3.1%, with a payout ratio of 312.38%.

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. reduced its stake in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 14.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 183,352 shares of the company's stock after selling 31,981 shares during the period. AbbVie accounts for 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 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 31,817 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,666,000 after purchasing an additional 586 shares during the last quarter. Strait & Sound Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in AbbVie by 1.5% during the first quarter. Strait & Sound Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,178 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,132,000 after buying an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the first quarter worth about $1,347,000. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,530 shares of the company's stock worth $1,368,000 after acquiring an additional 316 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fred Alger Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 394.5% during the 1st quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 423,540 shares of the company's stock valued at $88,740,000 after acquiring an additional 337,893 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 transaction of $8,407,055.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 177,292 shares in the company, valued at $35,178,278.64. This represents a 19.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were 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 owned 58,247 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,562,611.97. The trade was a 18.58% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

AbbVie Price Performance

NYSE ABBV traded up $8.45 during trading on Thursday, reaching $220.09. 7,644,464 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,488,386. AbbVie Inc. has a 1-year low of $163.81 and a 1-year high of $221.77. The company has a market cap of $388.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 104.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.53. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $199.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $194.37. 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 (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.24 by ($0.27). The company had revenue of $15.42 billion during 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 was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.65 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 15th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 312.38%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ABBV. Daiwa America raised AbbVie from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Monday, August 25th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded AbbVie from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $214.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on AbbVie to $204.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.