17,902 Shares in AbbVie Inc. $ABBV Purchased by COFG Advisors LLC

Key Points

• COFG Advisors LLC opened a new position in AbbVie during the fourth quarter, buying 17,902 shares valued at about $4.09 million. AbbVie now represents roughly 1.0% of the firm’s portfolio.
• Institutional investors remain heavily involved in AbbVie, with hedge funds and other institutions owning 70.23% of the stock. Large holders such as Vanguard, Geode Capital, and Wellington Management all increased their stakes.
• AbbVie reported quarterly earnings of $2.65 per share, topping estimates, while revenue rose 12.4% year over year to $15 billion. Analysts remain broadly positive, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $253.43.

COFG Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 17,902 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,090,000. AbbVie comprises approximately 1.0% of COFG Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ABBV. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth about $5,865,055,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of AbbVie by 457.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,536,901 shares of the company's stock worth $2,439,714,000 after purchasing an additional 8,646,424 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of AbbVie by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 44,629,980 shares of the company's stock worth $10,179,099,000 after purchasing an additional 4,190,487 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of AbbVie by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 180,779,699 shares of the company's stock worth $41,306,353,000 after purchasing an additional 3,032,438 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of AbbVie by 41.8% in the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 9,337,480 shares of the company's stock worth $1,733,222,000 after purchasing an additional 2,753,312 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at AbbVie

In other AbbVie news, SVP David Ryan Purdue sold 5,230 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.56, for a total transaction of $1,221,518.80. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 2,654 shares in the company, valued at $619,868.24. The trade was a 66.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $240.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $270.00 to $278.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $275.00 target price for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $262.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded shares of AbbVie from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $253.43.

AbbVie Trading Down 2.3%

ABBV stock opened at $212.63 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $208.56 and a 200-day moving average of $219.58. AbbVie Inc. has a 12 month low of $181.73 and a 12 month high of $244.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $375.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 104.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.32.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.06. AbbVie had a net margin of 5.79% and a negative return on equity of 576.45%. The business had revenue of $15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.72 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.46 earnings per share. AbbVie's revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 14.3 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Company Profile

AbbVie is a global, research-driven biopharmaceutical company that was created as a spin-off from Abbott Laboratories in 2013 and is headquartered in North Chicago, Illinois. The company focuses on discovering, developing and commercializing therapies for complex and often chronic medical conditions. Its operations span research and development, manufacturing, regulatory affairs and commercialization, with an emphasis on bringing specialty medicines to market across multiple therapeutic areas.

AbbVie's product portfolio and pipeline cover several major therapeutic categories, including immunology, oncology, neuroscience, virology and women's health.

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