North Star Investment Management Corp. Reduces Holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

North Star Investment Management Corp. lowered its position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 9.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 77,383 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,922 shares during the period. AbbVie comprises about 1.2% of North Star Investment Management Corp.'s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. North Star Investment Management Corp.'s holdings in AbbVie were worth $16,213,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tallon Kerry Patrick acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth $309,000. Capital & Planning LLC raised its position in AbbVie by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 6,239 shares of the company's stock worth $1,109,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 79,396 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,109,000 after acquiring an additional 3,108 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of AbbVie by 17.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 22,912 shares of the company's stock worth $4,072,000 after acquiring an additional 3,401 shares during the period. Finally, Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in AbbVie by 72.7% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 7,279 shares of the company's stock worth $1,294,000 after purchasing an additional 3,064 shares in the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AbbVie Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE ABBV opened at $190.67 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $336.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 79.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.50. AbbVie Inc. has a 12 month low of $163.52 and a 12 month high of $218.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The company has a 50-day moving average of $184.21 and a 200-day moving average of $187.52.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $13.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.91 billion. AbbVie had a net margin of 7.59% and a return on equity of 296.28%. AbbVie's revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.31 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AbbVie news, EVP Jeffrey Ryan Stewart sold 58,832 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 53,234 shares in the company, valued at $11,183,398.72. This represents a 52.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on ABBV shares. Wall Street Zen lowered AbbVie from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on AbbVie from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Erste Group Bank upgraded AbbVie to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of AbbVie to $204.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of AbbVie from $214.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Eight equities research 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $211.29.

AbbVie 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.

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