AbbVie Inc. $ABBV Stake Boosted by Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc.

Key Points

• Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. increased its stake in AbbVie Inc. by 3.3% in the first quarter, now holding 44,680 shares valued at approximately $9.36 million.
• AbbVie recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.64 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 3.1% amid a dividend payout ratio of 312.38%.
• Analysts have upgraded AbbVie, with Daiwa Capital Markets setting an outperform rating and a target price of $214.00, while the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $214.95.

Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 3.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 44,680 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,420 shares during the quarter. Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc.'s holdings in AbbVie were worth $9,361,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Narus Financial Partners LLC grew its position in shares of AbbVie by 25.3% during the first quarter. Narus Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,988 shares of the company's stock worth $417,000 after buying an additional 401 shares in the last quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of AbbVie by 6.3% during the first quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 46,853 shares of the company's stock worth $9,817,000 after buying an additional 2,792 shares in the last quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of AbbVie by 3.9% during the first quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC now owns 8,240 shares of the company's stock worth $1,727,000 after buying an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. North Star Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of AbbVie by 0.5% during the first quarter. North Star Asset Management Inc. now owns 161,320 shares of the company's stock worth $33,800,000 after buying an additional 756 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the first quarter worth approximately $3,879,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.23% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ABBV. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Daiwa Capital Markets raised shares of AbbVie from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $214.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Daiwa America raised shares of AbbVie from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on AbbVie from $216.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut AbbVie from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $214.95.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

AbbVie Stock Performance

ABBV stock traded down $2.59 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $209.97. The company had a trading volume of 5,524,651 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,513,974. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $370.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 99.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.53. AbbVie Inc. has a one year low of $163.81 and a one year high of $218.66. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $197.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $194.08.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.97 earnings per share (EPS) 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 quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.65 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 15th. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.