AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Trading 1.8% Higher – Here’s Why

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) traded up 1.8% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $217.62 and last traded at $218.09. 1,999,462 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 67% from the average session volume of 5,987,263 shares. The stock had previously closed at $214.29.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on ABBV. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of AbbVie from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on AbbVie from $211.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on AbbVie from $224.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler raised their price target on AbbVie from $212.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Leerink Partners upgraded shares of AbbVie from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $206.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $211.45.

AbbVie Trading Down 1.4 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.66. The company has a market capitalization of $377.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 89.05, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $189.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $187.73.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($0.82). AbbVie had a net margin of 7.59% and a return on equity of 296.28%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.79 EPS. Research analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie’s payout ratio is 273.33%.

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In other news, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.90, for a total transaction of $6,070,159.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,985,223.60. This represents a 40.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 1,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.24, for a total value of $310,032.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,202,751.92. The trade was a 20.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 56,439 shares of company stock valued at $11,377,057 over the last quarter. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AbbVie

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Groupama Asset Managment raised its position in shares of AbbVie by 40.3% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 135,749 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 38,974 shares during the last quarter. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in AbbVie during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. EnRich Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 196.4% during the fourth quarter. EnRich Financial Partners LLC now owns 166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. 70.23% of the stock is currently 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.