AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) Shares Sold by Salem Investment Counselors Inc.

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. lessened its position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 1.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 130,846 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,407 shares during the quarter. AbbVie accounts for 1.0% of Salem Investment Counselors Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.'s holdings in AbbVie were worth $27,415,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in AbbVie by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 173,072,078 shares of the company's stock worth $30,754,908,000 after buying an additional 1,424,237 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in AbbVie by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 37,144,933 shares of the company's stock worth $6,586,948,000 after buying an additional 983,888 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in AbbVie by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 33,983,707 shares of the company's stock worth $6,038,898,000 after buying an additional 778,126 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in AbbVie by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 27,436,133 shares of the company's stock worth $4,875,401,000 after buying an additional 3,599,336 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in AbbVie in the 4th quarter worth about $4,459,385,000. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company's stock.

AbbVie Stock Performance

NYSE:ABBV traded down $1.75 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $190.67. 4,965,464 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,243,959. The stock has a market capitalization of $336.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.45, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.50. AbbVie Inc. has a 52-week low of $163.52 and a 52-week 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's 50 day moving average price is $183.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $187.43.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AbbVie news, EVP Jeffrey Ryan Stewart sold 58,832 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The shares were 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 approximately $11,183,398.72. The trade was a 52.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on ABBV shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of AbbVie from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Erste Group Bank raised shares of AbbVie to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of AbbVie from $241.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of AbbVie to $204.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $210.00 target price on the stock. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AbbVie has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $211.29.

AbbVie Company 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.