Vista Investment Management Has $272,000 Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Vista Investment Management lessened its stake in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 10.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,532 shares of the company’s stock after selling 175 shares during the quarter. Vista Investment Management’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $272,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Waverly Advisors LLC boosted its stake in AbbVie by 15.5% during the fourth quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 114,340 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,318,000 after acquiring an additional 15,383 shares in the last quarter. Whelan Financial bought a new position in AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth about $211,000. Willis Johnson & Associates Inc. boosted its position in shares of AbbVie by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. Willis Johnson & Associates Inc. now owns 3,379 shares of the company’s stock valued at $600,000 after acquiring an additional 291 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI lifted its position in AbbVie by 11.7% during the fourth quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 420,327 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,692,000 after purchasing an additional 43,991 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victrix Investment Advisors purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie in the fourth quarter worth $1,024,000. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AbbVie Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABBV opened at $185.64 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $327.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 77.35, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $190.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $186.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.66. AbbVie Inc. has a one year low of $153.58 and a one year high of $218.66.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total transaction of $1,143,466.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,429,199.90. The trade was a 20.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jeffrey Ryan Stewart sold 58,832 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The stock was 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 owns 53,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,183,398.72. This trade represents a 52.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 113,471 shares of company stock worth $23,426,451. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on ABBV shares. Guggenheim increased their target price 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 reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $205.00 target price (down previously from $210.00) on shares of AbbVie in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Erste Group Bank upgraded AbbVie to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $210.00 price target for the company. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded AbbVie to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $210.95.

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.