AbbVie Inc. $ABBV Shares Sold by Welch & Forbes LLC

Welch & Forbes LLC lessened its holdings in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 345,947 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,424 shares during the quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $79,045,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in AbbVie by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 177,747,261 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,155,601,000 after buying an additional 448,554 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its holdings in AbbVie by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 1,044,690 shares of the company’s stock worth $241,888,000 after buying an additional 151,644 shares during the last quarter. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in AbbVie by 25.5% during the 3rd quarter. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. now owns 401,760 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,024,000 after buying an additional 81,625 shares during the last quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in AbbVie by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 55,647 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,885,000 after buying an additional 5,302 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Procyon Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in AbbVie by 19.9% during the 4th quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 32,752 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,484,000 after buying an additional 5,427 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABBV has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of AbbVie in a report on Monday, March 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on AbbVie in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 target price on the stock. Evercore set a $235.00 target price on AbbVie in a report on Friday, May 15th. UBS Group reduced their target price on AbbVie from $240.00 to $230.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of AbbVie in a report on Monday, March 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AbbVie presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $253.43.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP David Ryan Purdue sold 5,230 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.56, for a total value of $1,221,518.80. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 2,654 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $619,868.24. This trade represents a 66.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE ABBV opened at $217.83 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $384.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 107.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.32. AbbVie Inc. has a 12-month low of $181.73 and a 12-month high of $244.81. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $208.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $219.66.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.72 billion. AbbVie had a negative return on equity of 576.45% and a net margin of 5.79%.The business’s revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.46 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 14.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Trending Headlines about AbbVie

Here are the key news stories impacting AbbVie this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AbbVie received U.S. FDA approval for DECNUPAZ, its first ADC approved for blood cancer, opening a new potential revenue stream in a highly specialized oncology market. U.S. FDA Approves DECNUPAZTM (pivekimab sunirine-pvzy) for Treatment of Adult Patients with Blastic Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cell Neoplasm, an Ultra-Rare and Aggressive Blood Cancer With Limited Treatment Options
• Positive Sentiment: The European Commission expanded the VENCLYXTO label in untreated CLL, broadening use of an established oncology drug and potentially supporting international sales. AbbVie Announces European Commission Authorization of Expanded Label for VENCLYXTO® (venetoclax) to Include Additional Combinations in Previously Untreated Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
• Positive Sentiment: AbbVie advanced ABBV-519 into first-in-human testing, signaling continued momentum in its immunology pipeline. AbbVie Inc. (ABBV) Presents at EU Clinical Trial Regulation: Latest Developments and Upcoming Opportunities Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent articles note ABBV has outperformed since its last earnings report and remains viewed as reasonably valued by some analysts, but these are more commentary than fresh business catalysts. AbbVie (ABBV) Up 3.5% Since Last Earnings Report: Can It Continue?

About AbbVie

AbbVie is a global, research-driven biopharmaceutical company that was created as a spin-off from Abbott Laboratories in 2013 and is headquartered in North Chicago, Illinois. The company focuses on discovering, developing and commercializing therapies for complex and often chronic medical conditions. Its operations span research and development, manufacturing, regulatory affairs and commercialization, with an emphasis on bringing specialty medicines to market across multiple therapeutic areas.

AbbVie’s product portfolio and pipeline cover several major therapeutic categories, including immunology, oncology, neuroscience, virology and women’s health.