Welch Group LLC Sells 2,504 Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Welch Group LLC lessened its holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 0.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 362,012 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,504 shares during the quarter. AbbVie accounts for about 3.3% of Welch Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Welch Group LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $74,317,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 173,072,078 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,754,908,000 after acquiring an additional 1,424,237 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 37,144,933 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,586,948,000 after acquiring an additional 983,888 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of AbbVie by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 33,983,707 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,038,898,000 after purchasing an additional 778,126 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of AbbVie by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 27,436,133 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,875,401,000 after purchasing an additional 3,599,336 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,459,385,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on ABBV. Guggenheim boosted their price target on AbbVie from $214.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on AbbVie in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $210.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded AbbVie from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Bank of America boosted their price target on AbbVie from $200.00 to $223.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on AbbVie from $211.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $210.95.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 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 directly owns 53,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,183,398.72. The trade was a 52.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

AbbVie Stock Up 1.3%

AbbVie stock opened at $185.40 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $186.28 and its 200 day moving average is $186.16. AbbVie Inc. has a 12-month low of $153.58 and a 12-month high of $218.66. The company has a market capitalization of $327.49 billion, a PE ratio of 77.25, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.56.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $13.34 billion for 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.31 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.