Howard Financial Services LTD. Sells 915 Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Howard Financial Services LTD. trimmed its holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 24.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,845 shares of the company’s stock after selling 915 shares during the quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD.’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $596,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. EnRich Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in AbbVie by 196.4% during the 4th quarter. EnRich Financial Partners LLC now owns 166 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AbbVie news, EVP Jeffrey Ryan Stewart sold 58,832 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 53,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,183,398.72. This represents a 52.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Price Performance

Shares of ABBV opened at $185.40 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.66. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $186.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $186.16. AbbVie Inc. has a 52-week low of $153.58 and a 52-week high of $218.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $327.49 billion, a PE ratio of 77.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.56.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen cut AbbVie from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. UBS Group boosted their target price on AbbVie from $181.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $194.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on AbbVie from $214.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and set a $205.00 target price (down from $210.00) on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, AbbVie presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $210.95.

AbbVie 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.