Norges Bank Makes New $4.46 Billion Investment in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 25,095,020 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,459,385,000. AbbVie makes up approximately 0.6% of Norges Bank's investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Norges Bank owned about 1.42% of AbbVie as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its holdings in AbbVie by 40.3% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 135,749 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 38,974 shares in the last quarter. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at AbbVie

In related news, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,284 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,985,223.60. The trade was a 40.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 18,944 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.41, for a total transaction of $3,853,399.04. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,496 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,338,401.36. This trade represents a 62.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 54,639 shares of company stock worth $11,067,025 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on ABBV shares. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered AbbVie from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $180.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $200.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of AbbVie to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Piper Sandler Companies reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $212.00 to $214.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $211.45.

AbbVie Stock Up 1.2 %

AbbVie stock traded up $2.40 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $205.12. 6,477,974 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,704,425. AbbVie Inc. has a 1-year low of $153.58 and a 1-year high of $218.66. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $197.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $188.95. 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 stock has a market cap of $362.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 85.47, 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, analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio is 273.33%.

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.