AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Shares Down 0.2% – Here’s Why

Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) traded down 0.2% on Friday . The company traded as low as $169.25 and last traded at $170.41. 990,980 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 5,735,005 shares. The stock had previously closed at $170.67.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABBV has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on AbbVie in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $205.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of AbbVie from $228.00 to $208.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of AbbVie from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Leerink Partners raised shares of AbbVie from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $206.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of AbbVie from $226.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AbbVie presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.50.

AbbVie Trading Down 0.4 %

The stock has a market cap of $300.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.65. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $175.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $184.66.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $3.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.92 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $14.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.28 billion. AbbVie had a return on equity of 244.01% and a net margin of 9.22%. The business’s revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.95 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.86%. This is a boost from AbbVie’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is presently 227.78%.

Insider Transactions at AbbVie

In other news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 1,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.24, for a total transaction of $310,032.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,202,751.92. This represents a 20.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC grew its stake in AbbVie by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC now owns 3,086 shares of the company’s stock valued at $548,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. Flavin Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at $348,000. First Dallas Securities Inc. increased its stake in AbbVie by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. now owns 18,269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,246,000 after purchasing an additional 644 shares in the last quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in AbbVie by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,060 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,610,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Patron Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 7,208 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,281,000 after buying an additional 618 shares in the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.