BLB&B Advisors LLC Trims Stock Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

BLB&B Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 89,224 shares of the company’s stock after selling 629 shares during the quarter. AbbVie accounts for about 0.8% of BLB&B Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. BLB&B Advisors LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $15,855,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GGM Financials LLC grew its stake in AbbVie by 0.7% during the third quarter. GGM Financials LLC now owns 6,895 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,362,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc lifted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc now owns 18,102 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,575,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Dillon & Associates Inc. boosted its position in AbbVie by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Dillon & Associates Inc. now owns 6,914 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,362,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Sunflower Bank N.A. raised its position in AbbVie by 0.4% in the third quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 13,723 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,710,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, Professional Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 3.4% during the third quarter. Professional Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,638 shares of the company’s stock worth $323,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In related news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 1,800 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.24, for a total value of $310,032.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,983 shares in the company, valued at $1,202,751.92. This trade represents a 20.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on ABBV shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on AbbVie from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $224.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $191.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Argus raised shares of AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AbbVie presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $208.35.

AbbVie Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:ABBV opened at $190.67 on Friday. AbbVie Inc. has a 1-year low of $153.58 and a 1-year high of $207.32. The company’s fifty day moving average is $177.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $185.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $336.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.58.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.98 by ($0.82). AbbVie had a return on equity of 257.91% and a net margin of 7.59%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.79 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.26 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.