Polaris Capital Management LLC Has $40.49 Million Stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Polaris Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 227,879 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,500 shares during the quarter. AbbVie makes up about 2.0% of Polaris Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Polaris Capital Management LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $40,494,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Groupama Asset Managment grew its stake in AbbVie by 40.3% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 135,749 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 38,974 shares during the period. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in AbbVie during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in AbbVie by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AbbVie Stock Performance

Shares of ABBV stock opened at $190.31 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The business has a fifty day moving average of $177.54 and a 200 day moving average of $185.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $336.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.58. AbbVie Inc. has a 1 year low of $153.58 and a 1 year high of $207.32.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($0.82). AbbVie had a return on equity of 257.91% and a net margin of 7.59%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.79 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABBV has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on AbbVie in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $205.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of AbbVie from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $224.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on AbbVie from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $208.35.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 1,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.24, for a total transaction of $310,032.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,202,751.92. The trade was a 20.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available 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.