Hartford Investment Management Co. Trims Stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Hartford Investment Management Co. lessened its holdings in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 109,192 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,975 shares during the quarter. AbbVie makes up 0.6% of Hartford Investment Management Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $19,403,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ABBV. Capital Advisors Inc. OK increased its stake in shares of AbbVie by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 335,011 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,531,000 after purchasing an additional 5,119 shares in the last quarter. Certuity LLC boosted its stake in AbbVie by 82.8% in the 4th quarter. Certuity LLC now owns 11,964 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,126,000 after purchasing an additional 5,418 shares during the period. Community Financial Services Group LLC grew its holdings in AbbVie by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 2,687 shares of the company’s stock valued at $477,000 after buying an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. Montz Harcus Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of AbbVie by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Montz Harcus Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,204 shares of the company’s stock valued at $392,000 after buying an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Leavell Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 79,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,158,000 after buying an additional 629 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 1,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.24, for a total transaction of $310,032.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,202,751.92. This represents a 20.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

AbbVie Price Performance

ABBV opened at $191.81 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $177.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $185.81. The company has a market capitalization of $338.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.92, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.58. AbbVie Inc. has a 12-month low of $153.58 and a 12-month high of $207.32.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 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 company posted $2.79 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of AbbVie from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on AbbVie from $224.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Leerink Partners raised AbbVie from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $206.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $212.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $208.35.

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.