Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Grows Stake in AbbVie Inc. $ABBV

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its AbbVie stake by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, adding 7,665 shares and bringing its total holdings to 270,573 shares worth about $61.8 million.
• AbbVie had several positive recent business catalysts, including U.S. FDA approval for DECNUPAZ, an expanded European label for VENCLYXTO, and advancement of ABBV-519 into first-in-human testing.
• Analyst sentiment remains constructive: multiple firms reiterated or raised ratings on AbbVie, and the stock currently has a Moderate Buy consensus with a price target of about $253.43.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 270,573 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,665 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.'s holdings in AbbVie were worth $61,823,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in AbbVie by 17.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 22,912 shares of the company's stock worth $4,072,000 after buying an additional 3,401 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of AbbVie by 72.7% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 7,279 shares of the company's stock worth $1,294,000 after purchasing an additional 3,064 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its position in shares of AbbVie by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 16,466 shares of the company's stock worth $3,056,000 after purchasing an additional 789 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of AbbVie by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 120,035 shares of the company's stock worth $22,281,000 after purchasing an additional 5,274 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of AbbVie by 117.3% in the 2nd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 1,135,034 shares of the company's stock worth $210,685,000 after purchasing an additional 612,702 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting AbbVie

Here are the key news stories impacting AbbVie this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AbbVie received U.S. FDA approval for DECNUPAZ, its first ADC approved for blood cancer, opening a new potential revenue stream in a highly specialized oncology market. U.S. FDA Approves DECNUPAZTM (pivekimab sunirine-pvzy) for Treatment of Adult Patients with Blastic Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cell Neoplasm, an Ultra-Rare and Aggressive Blood Cancer With Limited Treatment Options
• Positive Sentiment: The European Commission expanded the VENCLYXTO label in untreated CLL, broadening use of an established oncology drug and potentially supporting international sales. AbbVie Announces European Commission Authorization of Expanded Label for VENCLYXTO® (venetoclax) to Include Additional Combinations in Previously Untreated Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
• Positive Sentiment: AbbVie advanced ABBV-519 into first-in-human testing, signaling continued momentum in its immunology pipeline. AbbVie Inc. (ABBV) Presents at EU Clinical Trial Regulation: Latest Developments and Upcoming Opportunities Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent articles note ABBV has outperformed since its last earnings report and remains viewed as reasonably valued by some analysts, but these are more commentary than fresh business catalysts. AbbVie (ABBV) Up 3.5% Since Last Earnings Report: Can It Continue?

Analyst Ratings Changes

ABBV has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $240.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on AbbVie from $270.00 to $278.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Monday, March 9th. DZ Bank raised AbbVie from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Evercore set a $235.00 target price on AbbVie in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Three 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $253.43.

AbbVie Stock Performance

Shares of ABBV opened at $217.83 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average is $208.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $219.66. The company has a market capitalization of $384.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 107.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.32. AbbVie Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $181.73 and a fifty-two week high of $244.81.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.72 billion. AbbVie had a negative return on equity of 576.45% and a net margin of 5.79%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.46 EPS. Analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 14.3 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 transaction of $1,221,518.80. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 2,654 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $619,868.24. This trade represents a 66.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

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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