Rhenman & Partners Asset Management AB Decreases Stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Rhenman & Partners Asset Management AB reduced its stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 29.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 124,150 shares of the company's stock after selling 52,850 shares during the quarter. AbbVie comprises 2.3% of Rhenman & Partners Asset Management AB's holdings, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Rhenman & Partners Asset Management AB's holdings in AbbVie were worth $22,061,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ABBV. Howard Capital Management Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 20.3% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 2,012 shares of the company's stock valued at $397,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in AbbVie by 12.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,487,363 shares of the company's stock worth $491,204,000 after acquiring an additional 273,078 shares in the last quarter. United Bank acquired a new stake in AbbVie in the third quarter valued at approximately $217,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of AbbVie in the 3rd quarter worth $152,000. Finally, Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc increased its stake in AbbVie by 109.3% during the 3rd quarter. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc now owns 6,493 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,282,000 after purchasing an additional 3,391 shares in the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AbbVie Price Performance

NYSE:ABBV traded down $8.04 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $167.63. The stock had a trading volume of 7,231,193 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,840,336. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $200.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $188.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $296.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 69.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.55. 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 Inc. has a one year low of $153.58 and a one year high of $218.66.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share (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 period in the prior year, the business posted $2.79 EPS. Research analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.91%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie's payout ratio is 273.33%.

Insider Transactions at AbbVie

In related 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 completion of the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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 transaction of $6,070,159.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,284 shares in the company, 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 ninety days, insiders sold 113,471 shares of company stock valued at $23,426,451. Insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on ABBV shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $181.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Erste Group Bank raised AbbVie to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Truist Financial raised their target price on AbbVie from $211.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup raised their price objective on AbbVie from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $194.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a report on Tuesday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $210.71.

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.