AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the fifteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $188.71.

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler Companies reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on AbbVie from $191.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $187.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $180.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd.

AbbVie Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABBV opened at $185.16 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $167.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $169.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.93, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The company has a market capitalization of $326.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.64. AbbVie has a 1-year low of $135.85 and a 1-year high of $186.85.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.08. AbbVie had a net margin of 9.71% and a return on equity of 186.82%. The company had revenue of $14.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.91 EPS. AbbVie’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that AbbVie will post 10.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 15th will be paid a $1.55 dividend. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 15th. AbbVie’s payout ratio is 183.98%.

Insider Transactions at AbbVie

In related news, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 282,845 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $49,497,875.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 513,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $89,792,325. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AbbVie

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter valued at $234,000. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC boosted its position in AbbVie by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 13,748 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,131,000 after buying an additional 389 shares during the period. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in AbbVie in the 4th quarter worth about $1,310,000. Insight Folios Inc increased its position in shares of AbbVie by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Insight Folios Inc now owns 48,281 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,482,000 after acquiring an additional 1,896 shares during the period. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of AbbVie by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 93,239 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,449,000 after acquiring an additional 1,619 shares in the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About AbbVie

AbbVie Inc discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells pharmaceuticals worldwide. The company offers Humira, an injection for autoimmune and intestinal Behçet's diseases, and pyoderma gangrenosum; Skyrizi to treat moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, psoriatic disease, and Crohn's disease; Rinvoq to treat rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, atopic dermatitis, axial spondyloarthropathy, ulcerative colitis, and Crohn's disease; Imbruvica for the treatment of adult patients with blood cancers; Epkinly to treat lymphoma; Elahere to treat cancer; and Venclexta/Venclyxto to treat blood cancers.