Norges Bank Buys Shares of 25,095,020 AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 25,095,020 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,459,385,000. AbbVie comprises about 0.6% of Norges Bank’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Norges Bank owned 1.42% of AbbVie as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Howard Capital Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in AbbVie by 20.3% in the 3rd 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. increased its stake in AbbVie by 12.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,487,363 shares of the company’s stock valued at $491,204,000 after acquiring an additional 273,078 shares during the period. United Bank acquired a new position in AbbVie in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $217,000. Algert Global LLC bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,436,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $152,000. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,284 shares in the company, valued at $8,985,223.60. This represents a 40.32 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total value of $1,143,466.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,429,199.90. This represents a 20.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 54,639 shares of company stock worth $11,067,025. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABBV opened at $201.16 on Thursday. AbbVie Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $153.58 and a fifty-two week high of $218.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The company has a market capitalization of $355.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 83.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $196.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $188.87.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.79 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a $1.64 dividend. 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 is presently 273.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Daiwa America cut AbbVie from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of AbbVie from $212.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler lifted 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. Citigroup increased their target price on AbbVie from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 price target (up previously from $218.00) on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AbbVie currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.