Viking Fund Management LLC Lowers Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Viking Fund Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 18.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 90,000 shares of the company's stock after selling 20,000 shares during the quarter. AbbVie makes up 2.7% of Viking Fund Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Viking Fund Management LLC's holdings in AbbVie were worth $18,857,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Crestline Management LP increased its position in shares of AbbVie by 438.4% during the fourth quarter. Crestline Management LP now owns 35,311 shares of the company's stock worth $6,275,000 after buying an additional 28,753 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in AbbVie by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,367,162 shares of the company's stock worth $1,664,489,000 after acquiring an additional 108,993 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its holdings in AbbVie by 35.8% during the 4th quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 1,047 shares of the company's stock worth $186,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares during the period. AXA S.A. raised its position in shares of AbbVie by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 971,893 shares of the company's stock worth $172,705,000 after acquiring an additional 125,568 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Keystone Financial Group lifted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Keystone Financial Group now owns 17,952 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,190,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on AbbVie from $204.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of AbbVie from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $210.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $205.00 target price (down from $210.00) on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on AbbVie from $200.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $210.95.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Jeffrey Ryan Stewart sold 58,832 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 53,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,183,398.72. This represents a 52.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

AbbVie Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ABBV traded down $0.05 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $187.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,412,546 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,233,050. AbbVie Inc. has a 12-month low of $162.16 and a 12-month high of $218.66. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $185.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $186.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $330.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 78.04, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $13.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.91 billion. AbbVie had a return on equity of 296.28% and a net margin of 7.59%. AbbVie's quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company 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.

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.