KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Invests $124.95 Million in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 703,172 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $124,954,000. AbbVie makes up 0.6% of KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS's holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Groupama Asset Managment raised its holdings in AbbVie by 40.3% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 135,749 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 38,974 shares during the period. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.23% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In related news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 18,944 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.41, for a total value of $3,853,399.04. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,496 shares in the company, valued at $2,338,401.36. This trade represents a 62.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.90, for a total value of $6,070,159.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,284 shares in the company, 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 have sold a total of 54,639 shares of company stock valued at $11,067,025 over the last quarter. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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AbbVie Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:ABBV traded down $0.18 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $201.16. 6,742,701 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,275,588. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.66. AbbVie Inc. has a 52-week low of $153.58 and a 52-week high of $218.66. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $195.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $188.78. The company has a market capitalization of $355.13 billion, a PE ratio of 83.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($0.82). AbbVie had a return on equity of 296.28% and a net margin of 7.59%. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.79 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 3.26%. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 273.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ABBV shares. Piper Sandler Companies reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on AbbVie from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America lifted their price target on AbbVie from $200.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective 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 issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.