KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Takes Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 703,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $124,954,000. AbbVie accounts for about 0.6% of KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Umpqua Bank boosted its position in AbbVie by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 2,606 shares of the company’s stock worth $457,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares during the period. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of AbbVie by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,628 shares of the company’s stock valued at $467,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares during the period. Intellus Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of AbbVie in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $731,000. Forefront Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of AbbVie in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $325,000. Finally, Plancorp LLC boosted its position in shares of AbbVie by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Plancorp LLC now owns 16,555 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,942,000 after acquiring an additional 1,250 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at AbbVie

In other news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 18,944 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.41, for a total value of $3,853,399.04. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,496 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,338,401.36. This trade represents a 62.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total transaction of $1,143,466.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. Insiders have sold 54,639 shares of company stock worth $11,067,025 in the last 90 days. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABBV has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Guggenheim raised 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. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of AbbVie from $181.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Daiwa America downgraded shares of AbbVie from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded shares of AbbVie from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of AbbVie from $211.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AbbVie presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.45.

AbbVie Stock Performance

Shares of AbbVie stock opened at $209.98 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $370.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 87.49, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $194.49 and its 200 day moving average is $188.73. AbbVie Inc. has a 1 year low of $153.58 and a 1 year 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.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.79 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

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 issued a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie’s payout ratio is 273.33%.

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.