MetLife Investment Management LLC Grows Stock Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 501,566 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,305 shares during the period. AbbVie accounts for approximately 0.5% of MetLife Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $89,128,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. EnRich Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in AbbVie by 196.4% in the 4th quarter. EnRich Financial Partners LLC now owns 166 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on ABBV shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on AbbVie from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $194.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 price objective (up from $218.00) on shares of AbbVie in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of AbbVie from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $211.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $210.71.

AbbVie Stock Performance

Shares of ABBV opened at $172.78 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $198.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $187.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $305.64 billion, a PE ratio of 71.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.55. AbbVie Inc. has a 52-week low of $153.58 and a 52-week high of $218.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 last year, the firm earned $2.79 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is presently 273.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total value of $1,143,466.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,381 shares in the company, valued at $4,429,199.90. The trade was a 20.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 18,944 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.41, for a total value of $3,853,399.04. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,496 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,338,401.36. This represents a 62.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 113,471 shares of company stock worth $23,426,451. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Company 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.