Lazari Capital Management Inc. Trims Stock Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Lazari Capital Management Inc. lessened its position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 5.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 16,507 shares of the company’s stock after selling 901 shares during the quarter. AbbVie makes up 1.2% of Lazari Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Lazari Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $2,933,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABBV. Groupama Asset Managment grew its position in shares of AbbVie by 40.3% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 135,749 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 38,974 shares during the period. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Marquette Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the third quarter valued at about $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Price Performance

AbbVie stock opened at $183.90 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $176.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $185.13. The company has a market capitalization of $324.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 76.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.58. AbbVie Inc. has a 1 year low of $153.58 and a 1 year high of $207.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.65.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.98 by ($0.82). AbbVie had a net margin of 7.59% and a return on equity of 257.91%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.79 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ABBV has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Leerink Partners upgraded shares of AbbVie from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $206.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of AbbVie from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of AbbVie from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of AbbVie from $212.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded shares of AbbVie from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.00.

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In related news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 1,800 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.24, for a total value of $310,032.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,202,751.92. The trade was a 20.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

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.