Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Grows Stock Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 3.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 161,824 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,356 shares during the quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $33,905,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. EnRich Financial Partners LLC grew its position in shares of AbbVie by 196.4% during the 4th quarter. EnRich Financial Partners LLC now owns 166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in AbbVie during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in AbbVie during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in AbbVie in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH raised its stake in shares of AbbVie by 197.6% in the fourth quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 179,440 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 119,141 shares during the period. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AbbVie Stock Performance

AbbVie stock opened at $185.26 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $184.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $187.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14. The company has a market cap of $327.24 billion, a PE ratio of 78.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.50. AbbVie Inc. has a twelve month low of $163.52 and a twelve month high of $218.66.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.06. AbbVie had a return on equity of 412.03% and a net margin of 7.31%. The company had revenue of $13.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.31 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on AbbVie from $214.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of AbbVie from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $210.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $241.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of AbbVie from $204.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Eight investment 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AbbVie presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $211.29.

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In related news, EVP Jeffrey Ryan Stewart sold 58,832 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.08, for a total transaction of $12,359,426.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 53,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,183,398.72. The trade was a 52.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.