Franklin Resources Inc. Grows Stock Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 4.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,570,685 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 338,789 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.42% of AbbVie worth $1,173,229,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in AbbVie during the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in AbbVie by 240.0% during the fourth quarter. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC now owns 340 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 240 shares during the period. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new stake in AbbVie during the fourth quarter valued at $53,000. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in AbbVie by 459.7% during the third quarter. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 347 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 285 shares during the period. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new stake in AbbVie during the fourth quarter valued at $57,000. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 21,082 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.30, for a total transaction of $3,716,756.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,903 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,855,698.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 5,144 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.65, for a total value of $908,687.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,233,546.95. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 21,082 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.30, for a total value of $3,716,756.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 55,903 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,855,698.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 383,324 shares of company stock valued at $67,780,003 in the last ninety days. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

AbbVie Stock Down 1.1 %

ABBV stock traded down $1.80 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $164.62. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,058,482 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,532,719. The company has a market cap of $290.70 billion, a PE ratio of 48.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.61. AbbVie Inc. has a 12 month low of $130.96 and a 12 month high of $182.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.93. The firm's 50-day moving average is $169.88 and its 200-day moving average is $162.70.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $12.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.93 billion. AbbVie had a return on equity of 179.47% and a net margin of 11.02%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.46 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 11.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Raymond James lifted their price target on AbbVie from $181.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on AbbVie from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on AbbVie from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on AbbVie from $188.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on AbbVie in a research note on Friday. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $200.00 target price for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AbbVie presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $176.14.

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.

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