Lazard Asset Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Lazard Asset Management LLC cut its stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 18.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 115,459 shares of the company's stock after selling 26,115 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in AbbVie were worth $20,516,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ABBV. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC acquired a new position in AbbVie in the 4th quarter worth about $54,907,000. LRI Investments LLC raised its position in AbbVie by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 14,962 shares of the company's stock worth $2,659,000 after acquiring an additional 987 shares during the period. Lionshead Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in AbbVie during the fourth quarter valued at $561,000. Investor s Fiduciary Advisor Network LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the fourth quarter valued at about $858,000. Finally, Iron Triangle Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth about $66,462,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total value of $1,143,466.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,429,199.90. This trade represents a 20.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 18,944 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.41, for a total value of $3,853,399.04. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,496 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,338,401.36. The trade was a 62.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 113,471 shares of company stock valued at $23,426,451. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ABBV has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BNP Paribas upgraded AbbVie to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $194.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $204.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of AbbVie from $214.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of AbbVie from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $210.95.

AbbVie Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of ABBV traded up $2.34 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $184.02. 6,151,228 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,235,724. AbbVie Inc. has a 52-week low of $153.58 and a 52-week high of $218.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.66. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $191.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $187.11. The firm has a market cap of $325.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 76.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.56.

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

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.