Wedmont Private Capital Purchases 11,423 Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Wedmont Private Capital boosted its stake in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 44.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,245 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 11,423 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital's holdings in AbbVie were worth $7,804,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABBV. Crestline Management LP raised its position in shares of AbbVie by 438.4% during the 4th quarter. Crestline Management LP now owns 35,311 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,275,000 after purchasing 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 valued at $1,664,489,000 after purchasing an additional 108,993 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its position in AbbVie by 35.8% in the 4th quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 1,047 shares of the company's stock valued at $186,000 after buying an additional 276 shares during the period. AXA S.A. lifted 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 purchasing an additional 125,568 shares during the period. Finally, Keystone Financial Group lifted its position in shares of AbbVie by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Keystone Financial Group now owns 17,952 shares of the company's stock worth $3,190,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of AbbVie to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $194.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of AbbVie to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $210.00 price target for the company. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $214.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $212.19.

Insider Buying and Selling at AbbVie

In related news, EVP Jeffrey Ryan Stewart sold 58,832 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 53,234 shares in the company, valued at $11,183,398.72. The trade was a 52.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

AbbVie Stock Up 1.3%

ABBV stock opened at $189.89 on Friday. AbbVie Inc. has a twelve month low of $163.52 and a twelve month high of $218.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94. The company has a market capitalization of $335.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 79.12, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.50. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $184.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $187.09.

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

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.