AbbVie Inc. $ABBV Holdings Raised by Fisher Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Fisher Asset Management LLC significantly boosted its AbbVie stake by 127.8% in the fourth quarter, ending with 628,338 shares worth about $143.6 million.
• AbbVie reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.65 versus $2.59 expected and revenue of $15 billion, up 12.4% from a year earlier.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on the stock, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $253.43, even as several executives recently sold shares.

Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 127.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 628,338 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 352,487 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC's holdings in AbbVie were worth $143,569,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Eclectic Associates Inc. ADV lifted its position in AbbVie by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Eclectic Associates Inc. ADV now owns 5,852 shares of the company's stock worth $1,337,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Weil Company Inc. lifted its position in AbbVie by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Weil Company Inc. now owns 2,026 shares of the company's stock worth $469,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Hardin Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in AbbVie by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Hardin Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,321 shares of the company's stock worth $759,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in AbbVie by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 473 shares of the company's stock worth $108,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantum Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of AbbVie by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Quantum Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,376 shares of the company's stock worth $543,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 22,381 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total value of $5,147,630.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 38,137 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,771,510. This trade represents a 36.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP David Ryan Purdue sold 5,230 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

AbbVie Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE:ABBV opened at $216.02 on Tuesday. AbbVie Inc. has a 1 year low of $181.71 and a 1 year high of $244.81. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $208.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $219.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $381.65 billion, a PE ratio of 106.41, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.32.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.72 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.46 EPS. AbbVie's revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 14.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on ABBV shares. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and set a $240.00 price target on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of AbbVie from $294.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of AbbVie from $235.00 to $230.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $249.00 price target on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, AbbVie has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $253.43.

AbbVie 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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