Mechanics Bank Trust Department Grows Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Mechanics Bank Trust Department raised its position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 8.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,325 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 971 shares during the quarter. Mechanics Bank Trust Department’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $2,582,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABBV. Tallon Kerry Patrick acquired a new stake in AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth approximately $309,000. Capital & Planning LLC increased its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 6,239 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,109,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC raised its stake in shares of AbbVie by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 79,396 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,109,000 after purchasing an additional 3,108 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 17.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 22,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,072,000 after purchasing an additional 3,401 shares during the period. Finally, Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in AbbVie by 72.7% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 7,279 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,294,000 after buying an additional 3,064 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on ABBV shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $205.00 price objective (down previously from $210.00) on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on AbbVie from $241.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Guggenheim increased their target price on AbbVie from $214.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 price target (up from $218.00) on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AbbVie presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $210.95.

AbbVie Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ABBV opened at $185.53 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $327.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 77.30, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.56. AbbVie Inc. has a 52 week low of $158.83 and a 52 week high of $218.66. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $185.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $186.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $13.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.91 billion. AbbVie had a net margin of 7.59% and a return on equity of 296.28%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.31 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Jeffrey Ryan Stewart sold 58,832 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 53,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,183,398.72. This trade represents a 52.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie 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.