AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) Shares Acquired by Public Sector Pension Investment Board

Key Points

• The Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its holdings in AbbVie Inc. by 13.4% during the first quarter, now owning 918,647 shares valued at approximately $192.5 million.
• Analysts have recently adjusted price targets for AbbVie, with Daiwa Capital Markets setting a new target of $214.00 and Morgan Stanley raising it to $255.00, indicating a consensus rating of Moderate Buy.
• AbbVie declared a quarterly dividend of $1.64, representing a 3.3% yield, with a payout ratio of 312.38%.

Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 13.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 918,647 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 108,673 shares during the quarter. AbbVie comprises about 0.8% of Public Sector Pension Investment Board's holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned 0.05% of AbbVie worth $192,475,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in AbbVie by 0.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 173,917,865 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,439,271,000 after purchasing an additional 845,787 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 33,983,707 shares of the company's stock worth $6,038,898,000 after purchasing an additional 778,126 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 21,824,626 shares of the company's stock worth $3,878,236,000 after purchasing an additional 2,299,645 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in AbbVie by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 16,410,277 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,915,990,000 after acquiring an additional 959,242 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in AbbVie by 31.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 14,646,908 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,068,820,000 after acquiring an additional 3,519,187 shares in the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AbbVie Price Performance

ABBV stock traded down $0.08 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $198.56. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,047,496 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,265,520. 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 capitalization of $350.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 94.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.50. AbbVie Inc. has a 12 month low of $163.81 and a 12 month high of $218.66. The company has a 50 day moving average of $190.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $191.60.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 699.66% and a net margin of 6.45%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.65 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. AbbVie's payout ratio is 312.38%.

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In related news, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ABBV. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded shares of AbbVie from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $214.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $231.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of AbbVie from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of AbbVie from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $210.00 price target for the company. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's 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.

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.