Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. Decreases Holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. cut its stake in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 20.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 43,260 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,100 shares during the period. Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc.'s holdings in AbbVie were worth $7,687,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. EnRich Financial Partners LLC raised its position in shares of AbbVie by 196.4% in the 4th quarter. EnRich Financial Partners LLC now owns 166 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in AbbVie in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABBV has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Erste Group Bank upgraded AbbVie to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of AbbVie in a report on Tuesday. They set an "overweight" rating and a $210.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley restated a "hold" rating on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on AbbVie from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on AbbVie from $181.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $211.19.

AbbVie Stock Up 3.1 %

ABBV stock traded up $5.59 during trading on Friday, reaching $185.96. 10,480,961 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,061,975. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94. AbbVie Inc. has a twelve month low of $153.58 and a twelve month high of $218.66. The firm's 50 day moving average is $197.05 and its 200 day moving average is $187.28. The firm has a market cap of $328.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.55.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.51 by ($0.05). AbbVie had a return on equity of 296.28% and a net margin of 7.59%. The firm had revenue of $13.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.91 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.53%. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 273.33%.

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In other news, EVP Jeffrey Ryan Stewart sold 58,832 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.08, for a total value of $12,359,426.56. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 53,234 shares in the company, 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 stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,284 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,985,223.60. The trade was a 40.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 113,471 shares of company stock valued at $23,426,451. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

AbbVie 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.