Clark Capital Management Group Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in AbbVie Inc. $ABBV

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 13.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 602,793 shares of the company’s stock after selling 92,598 shares during the period. AbbVie accounts for 0.8% of Clark Capital Management Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Clark Capital Management Group Inc.’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $137,732,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ABBV. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in AbbVie by 17.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 22,912 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,072,000 after acquiring an additional 3,401 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake 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 buying an additional 3,064 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. grew its stake 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 buying an additional 789 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC grew its stake 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 buying an additional 5,274 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC grew its stake 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 buying an additional 612,702 shares in the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AbbVie Trading Up 0.5%

ABBV stock opened at $222.62 on Wednesday. AbbVie Inc. has a 12 month low of $181.73 and a 12 month high of $244.81. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $211.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $218.89. The stock has a market cap of $393.33 billion, a PE ratio of 109.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.32.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.65 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 firm had revenue of $15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.72 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.46 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 14.3 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on ABBV. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $270.00 to $278.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. DZ Bank raised shares of AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Barclays began coverage on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $275.00 price objective for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $240.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of AbbVie from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $234.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average 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.