AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) Shares Sold by Congress Asset Management Co.

Congress Asset Management Co. reduced its holdings in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 56.6% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 5,353 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,975 shares during the quarter. Congress Asset Management Co.’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $1,122,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of AbbVie by 30.4% in the 4th quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of AbbVie by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,110 shares of the company’s stock valued at $553,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Peninsula Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of AbbVie by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Peninsula Wealth LLC now owns 1,360 shares of the company’s stock valued at $242,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Physicians Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of AbbVie by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Physicians Financial Services Inc. now owns 12,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,159,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connecticut Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of AbbVie by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,711 shares of the company’s stock valued at $660,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Jeffrey Ryan Stewart sold 58,832 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.08, for a total value of $12,359,426.56. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 53,234 shares in the company, valued at $11,183,398.72. This trade represents a 52.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Guggenheim lifted their target price on AbbVie from $214.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Erste Group Bank raised AbbVie to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $194.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on AbbVie from $241.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on AbbVie in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $210.00 price target for the company. Eight 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $212.19.

AbbVie Stock Performance

NYSE ABBV opened at $189.89 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $335.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.12, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.50. 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 twelve month low of $163.52 and a twelve month high of $218.66. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $184.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $187.19.

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