Generali Investments Management Co LLC Invests $3.55 Million in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Generali Investments Management Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 19,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,553,000. AbbVie accounts for about 0.9% of Generali Investments Management Co LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ABBV. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in AbbVie during the fourth quarter valued at $1,190,951,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in AbbVie by 15.1% during the fourth 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 period. Boston Partners lifted its position in AbbVie by 35.9% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 5,687,472 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,008,867,000 after purchasing an additional 1,503,875 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in AbbVie by 1.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 79,067,935 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,614,329,000 after purchasing an additional 1,267,685 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in AbbVie by 26,693.1% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,176,754 shares of the company’s stock valued at $209,109,000 after purchasing an additional 1,172,362 shares during the period. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total value of $1,143,466.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,429,199.90. This represents a 20.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.90, for a total transaction of $6,070,159.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,985,223.60. This trade represents a 40.32 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 54,639 shares of company stock valued at $11,067,025 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE ABBV opened at $213.80 on Wednesday. AbbVie Inc. has a 12-month low of $153.58 and a 12-month high of $218.66. The stock has a market cap of $377.43 billion, a PE ratio of 89.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94. The company has a 50-day moving average of $192.47 and a 200 day moving average of $188.31.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($0.82). AbbVie had a net margin of 7.59% and a return on equity of 296.28%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.79 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.07%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is presently 273.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABBV has been the subject of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $212.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler Companies reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $224.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $181.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $211.45.

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.