California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 583,554 Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

California Public Employees Retirement System lowered its stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 10.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 4,959,736 shares of the company’s stock after selling 583,554 shares during the period. AbbVie comprises 0.6% of California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest position. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $881,345,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in AbbVie by 30.4% in the fourth quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Physicians Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Physicians Financial Services Inc. now owns 12,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,159,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. raised its position in shares of AbbVie by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 9,842 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,749,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Doliver Advisors LP boosted its stake in AbbVie by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Doliver Advisors LP now owns 5,276 shares of the company’s stock worth $938,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC grew its position in AbbVie by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC now owns 1,197 shares of the company’s stock worth $213,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Stock Performance

ABBV opened at $205.12 on Friday. AbbVie Inc. has a twelve month low of $153.58 and a twelve month high of $218.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $362.85 billion, a PE ratio of 85.47, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $197.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $188.95.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 period last year, the firm earned $2.79 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 273.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on ABBV. Daiwa America cut shares of AbbVie from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Citigroup raised their target price on AbbVie from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 price target (up previously from $218.00) on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Erste Group Bank upgraded AbbVie to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on AbbVie from $224.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Five investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, AbbVie has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $211.45.

Insider Transactions at AbbVie

In related news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 18,944 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 11,496 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,338,401.36. This represents a 62.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,429,199.90. This trade represents a 20.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 54,639 shares of company stock worth $11,067,025 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

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.