AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) Shares Bought by FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co

FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co raised its holdings in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 245,057 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 425 shares during the quarter. AbbVie accounts for about 3.1% of FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $43,547,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the third quarter worth $8,777,000. Swedbank AB raised its holdings in AbbVie by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,147,126 shares of the company’s stock worth $424,014,000 after buying an additional 6,810 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Group LLC raised its holdings in AbbVie by 20.3% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 2,012 shares of the company’s stock worth $397,000 after buying an additional 339 shares during the period. Old Port Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the third quarter valued at approximately $222,000. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of AbbVie by 131.4% in the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 6,345 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,253,000 after buying an additional 3,603 shares in the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 1,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.24, for a total value of $310,032.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,983 shares in the company, valued at $1,202,751.92. This represents a 20.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total transaction of $1,143,466.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,429,199.90. The trade was a 20.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

AbbVie Price Performance

ABBV opened at $203.08 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $358.51 billion, a PE ratio of 84.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.58. The business’s 50-day moving average is $183.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $186.72. AbbVie Inc. has a 1 year low of $153.58 and a 1 year high of $207.32. 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 quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 last year, the business posted $2.79 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 273.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on ABBV shares. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $205.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on AbbVie from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup upped their target price on AbbVie from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 target price (up from $218.00) on shares of AbbVie in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on AbbVie from $212.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, AbbVie currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $208.35.

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.