Railway Pension Investments Ltd Buys 5,800 Shares of AbbVie Inc. $ABBV

Key Points

• Railway Pension Investments Ltd increased its AbbVie stake by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, buying 5,800 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 859,749 shares worth about $196.4 million.
• AbbVie continues to attract major institutional support, with firms like Vanguard, Geode Capital Management, and Norges Bank adding to positions; overall, 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
• Analyst sentiment remains constructive, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $253.43, while recent developments include FDA approval for DECNUPAZ and an expanded European label for VENCLYXTO.

Railway Pension Investments Ltd boosted its stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 859,749 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,800 shares during the quarter. AbbVie accounts for 2.3% of Railway Pension Investments Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Railway Pension Investments Ltd's holdings in AbbVie were worth $196,444,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in AbbVie by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 44,629,980 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,179,099,000 after acquiring an additional 4,190,487 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at $5,865,055,000. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in AbbVie by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 12,133,331 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,772,345,000 after acquiring an additional 129,247 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 8,646,424 shares in the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on ABBV shares. DZ Bank raised shares of AbbVie from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Monday, March 9th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $240.00 price target on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $253.43.

Trending Headlines about 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?

Insider Buying and Selling at AbbVie

In other news, SVP David Ryan Purdue sold 5,230 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

AbbVie Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of ABBV stock opened at $217.83 on Friday. AbbVie Inc. has a 1 year low of $181.73 and a 1 year high of $244.81. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $208.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $219.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $384.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 107.30, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.32.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.72 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.46 EPS. The company's revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 14.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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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