Geode Capital Management LLC Acquires 4,190,487 Shares of AbbVie Inc. $ABBV

Key Points

• Geode Capital Management increased its AbbVie stake by 10.4% in the fourth quarter, buying 4.19 million additional shares and bringing its holdings to 44.63 million shares worth about $10.18 billion.
• Other major institutions also added to AbbVie positions, including Wellington Management, Vanguard, Raymond James, Alliancebernstein, and Amundi, with institutional ownership totaling 70.23% of the company.
• AbbVie has several positive catalysts, including FDA approval for DECNUPAZ, a label expansion for Linzess, and multiple analysts raising price targets; the stock also beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates in its latest report.

Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 10.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 44,629,980 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,190,487 shares during the period. AbbVie makes up about 0.6% of Geode Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 2.53% of AbbVie worth $10,179,099,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in AbbVie by 457.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,536,901 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,439,714,000 after purchasing an additional 8,646,424 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in AbbVie by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 180,779,699 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,306,353,000 after acquiring an additional 3,032,438 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of AbbVie by 41.8% during the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 9,337,480 shares of the company's stock worth $1,733,222,000 after buying an additional 2,753,312 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in shares of AbbVie by 31.8% during the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 7,281,327 shares of the company's stock worth $1,685,918,000 after buying an additional 1,758,657 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi increased its position in shares of AbbVie by 15.6% during the third quarter. Amundi now owns 10,508,317 shares of the company's stock worth $2,418,909,000 after buying an additional 1,414,621 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about AbbVie

Here are the key news stories impacting AbbVie this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AbbVie received FDA approval for DECNUPAZ, its first ADC approved for blood cancer, creating a new revenue opportunity and boosting its oncology pipeline. US FDA approves AbbVie's rare blood cancer drug
• Positive Sentiment: AbbVie and Ironwood won a U.S. label expansion for Linzess in pediatric constipation, expanding the drug’s addressable market. Ironwood, AbbVie win US label expansion for Linzess in pediatric constipation
• Positive Sentiment: Piper Sandler raised its price target on AbbVie and pointed to strong progress in the company’s inflammatory bowel disease pipeline. Piper Sandler Raises Price Target on AbbVie (ABBV) Amid Strong IBD Pipeline Progress
• Neutral Sentiment: AbbVie’s oncology revenue slipped in Q1 as Imbruvica sales declined, though newer drugs Venclexta, Elahere, and Epkinly continued to grow. How Did AbbVie's Oncology Portfolio Perform in Q1 Despite Headwinds?

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America upgraded shares of AbbVie from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $234.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of AbbVie from $270.00 to $278.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating on shares of AbbVie in a report on Monday, March 9th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of AbbVie in a report on Thursday, February 19th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $275.00 price target for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of AbbVie from $294.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $253.43.

Insider Transactions at AbbVie

In other news, SVP David Ryan Purdue sold 5,230 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.56, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 66.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

AbbVie Price Performance

ABBV opened at $215.42 on Thursday. The company's 50-day moving average is $208.27 and its 200 day moving average is $219.68. AbbVie Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $181.73 and a fifty-two week high of $244.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $380.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 106.12, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.32.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.72 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.46 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 14.3 earnings per share for the current year.

About AbbVie

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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