MSH Capital Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings in AbbVie Inc. $ABBV

Key Points

• MSH Capital Advisors LLC more than doubled its AbbVie stake in the fourth quarter, buying 8,934 additional shares to bring its total to 17,503 shares worth about $4.0 million.
• Institutional ownership in AbbVie remains high, with large investors like Vanguard, Public Sector Pension Investment Board, and others also increasing their positions; overall, hedge funds and institutions own 70.23% of the stock.
• AbbVie insiders sold shares recently, while analysts remain generally bullish, with an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $253.43 versus the stock’s Tuesday opening price of $216.02.

MSH Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 104.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,503 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,934 shares during the period. AbbVie accounts for 0.9% of MSH Capital Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. MSH Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in AbbVie were worth $3,999,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in AbbVie by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 177,747,261 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,155,601,000 after buying an additional 448,554 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its holdings in AbbVie by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 1,044,690 shares of the company's stock valued at $241,888,000 after buying an additional 151,644 shares during the period. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in AbbVie by 25.5% during the 3rd quarter. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. now owns 401,760 shares of the company's stock valued at $93,024,000 after buying an additional 81,625 shares during the period. Channing Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in AbbVie by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 55,647 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,885,000 after buying an additional 5,302 shares during the period. Finally, Procyon Advisors LLC raised its holdings in AbbVie by 19.9% during the 4th quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 32,752 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,484,000 after buying an additional 5,427 shares during the period. 70.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at AbbVie

In other AbbVie news, SVP David Ryan Purdue sold 5,230 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.56, for a total value 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 approximately $619,868.24. This trade represents a 66.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 22,381 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total value of $5,147,630.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 38,137 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,771,510. The trade was a 36.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on ABBV shares. Barclays started coverage on AbbVie in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $275.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $260.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $240.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Evercore set a $235.00 price objective on AbbVie in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Three 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AbbVie presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $253.43.

AbbVie Stock Performance

AbbVie stock opened at $216.02 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $208.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $219.73. AbbVie Inc. has a one year low of $181.71 and a one year high of $244.81. The stock has a market cap of $381.65 billion, a PE ratio of 106.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.32.

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