KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Boosts Position in AbbVie Inc. $ABBV

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS raised its stake in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 2.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 735,872 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 19,100 shares during the quarter. AbbVie comprises 0.6% of KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $136,593,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ABBV. First Hawaiian Bank boosted its position in shares of AbbVie by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 7,556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,403,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Narus Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of AbbVie by 25.3% during the 1st quarter. Narus Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,988 shares of the company’s stock valued at $417,000 after acquiring an additional 401 shares during the last quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of AbbVie by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 46,853 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,817,000 after acquiring an additional 2,792 shares during the last quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of AbbVie by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC now owns 8,240 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,727,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Finally, North Star Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of AbbVie by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. North Star Asset Management Inc. now owns 161,320 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,800,000 after acquiring an additional 756 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Stock Performance

NYSE:ABBV opened at $230.28 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $211.61 and a 200 day moving average of $195.93. The company has a market capitalization of $406.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 109.66, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.51. AbbVie Inc. has a 1-year low of $163.81 and a 1-year high of $244.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.61.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.97 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.24 by ($0.27). The company had revenue of $15.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.93 billion. AbbVie had a return on equity of 699.66% and a net margin of 6.45%.AbbVie’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.65 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 15th will be paid a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 15th. AbbVie’s payout ratio is 312.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on ABBV shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on AbbVie from $200.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on AbbVie from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 12th. HSBC set a $225.00 target price on AbbVie in a research report on Thursday. Daiwa America upgraded AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Berenberg Bank upgraded AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $170.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $229.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AbbVie news, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 42,370 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.42, for a total value of $8,407,055.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 177,292 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,178,278.64. The trade was a 19.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.51, for a total value of $2,639,190.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 58,247 shares in the company, valued at $11,562,611.97. This trade represents a 18.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.