Westfield Capital Management Co. LP Purchases Shares of 839,739 AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 839,739 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $130,134,000. AbbVie makes up about 0.8% of Westfield Capital Management Co. LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Founders Financial Alliance LLC increased its stake in shares of AbbVie by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC now owns 19,824 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,072,000 after purchasing an additional 496 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 970,754 shares of the company’s stock worth $150,438,000 after purchasing an additional 12,895 shares in the last quarter. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. acquired a new stake in AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth about $1,105,000. Skopos Labs Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,518,000. Finally, Eagle Global Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of AbbVie by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Global Advisors LLC now owns 3,297 shares of the company’s stock valued at $511,000 after purchasing an additional 463 shares during the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AbbVie Stock Performance

ABBV stock traded down $1.19 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $157.07. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,689,906 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,511,237. AbbVie Inc. has a 1 year low of $130.96 and a 1 year high of $182.89. The stock has a market cap of $277.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.61, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.61. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $167.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $163.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.93.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.05. AbbVie had a net margin of 11.02% and a return on equity of 179.47%. The business had revenue of $12.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.46 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 11.26 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of AbbVie from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 29th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $195.00 to $187.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Guggenheim raised their target price on AbbVie from $188.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. William Blair raised shares of AbbVie from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on AbbVie from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Three 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $176.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 5,144 shares of AbbVie 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,983 shares in the company, valued at $1,233,546.95. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Richard A. Gonzalez sold 138,616 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.27, for a total value of $24,572,458.32. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 519,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $92,020,679.73. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 5,144 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.65, for a total transaction of $908,687.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,233,546.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 302,561 shares of company stock valued at $53,645,658. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.