Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Invests $97.15 Million in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 546,556 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $97,148,000. AbbVie accounts for approximately 0.6% of Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at $4,459,385,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in AbbVie in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,190,951,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake 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 worth $4,875,401,000 after purchasing an additional 3,599,336 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in AbbVie by 24.3% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 17,246,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,064,773,000 after purchasing an additional 3,373,156 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners grew its stake in shares of AbbVie by 35.9% in the 4th 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. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Jeffrey Ryan Stewart sold 58,832 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.08, for a total value of $12,359,426.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 53,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,183,398.72. The trade was a 52.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.90, for a total value of $6,070,159.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,284 shares in the company, valued at $8,985,223.60. The trade was a 40.32 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 113,471 shares of company stock valued at $23,426,451 in the last ninety days. 0.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

AbbVie Trading Down 7.5 %

ABBV opened at $186.58 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $200.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $189.24. AbbVie Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $153.58 and a fifty-two week high of $218.66. The company has a market cap of $330.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 77.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 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 prior year, the firm posted $2.79 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.52%. AbbVie’s payout ratio is currently 273.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on ABBV shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on AbbVie from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler Companies reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of AbbVie from $211.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 price objective (up from $218.00) on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of AbbVie to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, AbbVie presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $211.45.

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.