Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. Trims Stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. cut its position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 2.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,630 shares of the company’s stock after selling 170 shares during the period. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $966,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. West Coast Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of AbbVie by 9.7% in the first quarter. West Coast Financial LLC now owns 1,578 shares of the company’s stock worth $287,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. FCG Investment Co bought a new position in shares of AbbVie during the first quarter worth $1,413,000. Safeguard Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of AbbVie during the first quarter worth $235,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of AbbVie by 0.9% during the first quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC now owns 7,311 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,331,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth $87,000. 70.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at AbbVie

In related news, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 282,845 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $49,497,875.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 513,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $89,792,325. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other AbbVie news, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 282,845 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $49,497,875.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 513,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $89,792,325. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 66,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.52, for a total transaction of $12,403,580.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 446,599 shares in the company, valued at $83,299,645.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ABBV. Piper Sandler Companies restated an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. HSBC upgraded shares of AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of AbbVie from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $180.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, William Blair upgraded shares of AbbVie to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, AbbVie currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $191.64.

AbbVie Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:ABBV opened at $193.46 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $341.62 billion, a PE ratio of 57.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.51. AbbVie Inc. has a 12-month low of $135.85 and a 12-month high of $199.95. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $189.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $175.82.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.08. AbbVie had a net margin of 9.71% and a return on equity of 203.66%. The firm had revenue of $14.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.91 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be given a dividend of $1.55 per share. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is presently 183.98%.

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.