LS Investment Advisors LLC Cuts Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

LS Investment Advisors LLC reduced its position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 20.6% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 9,391 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,443 shares during the quarter. LS Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $1,968,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. EnRich Financial Partners LLC raised its position in AbbVie by 196.4% in the fourth quarter. EnRich Financial Partners LLC now owns 166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new position in AbbVie in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on ABBV shares. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of AbbVie to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of AbbVie to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $214.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and set a $205.00 target price (down from $210.00) on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $194.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $210.95.

Insider Buying and Selling at AbbVie

In related news, EVP Jeffrey Ryan Stewart sold 58,832 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Stock Performance

ABBV stock opened at $187.30 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $185.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $186.65. The company has a market capitalization of $330.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 78.04, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.56. 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 Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $162.16 and a fifty-two week high of $218.66.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.46 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $13.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.91 billion. AbbVie had a return on equity of 296.28% and a net margin of 7.59%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.31 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.