AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Shares Up 0.5%

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) shares rose 0.5% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $198.97 and last traded at $198.43. Approximately 649,353 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 5,344,929 shares. The stock had previously closed at $197.48.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on ABBV. William Blair raised AbbVie to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Piper Sandler Companies reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price objective (up previously from $195.00) on shares of AbbVie in a report on Friday, July 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of AbbVie in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on AbbVie from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, AbbVie currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $191.64.

AbbVie Stock Down 0.3 %

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $192.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $176.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $347.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.64.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $14.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.02 billion. AbbVie had a net margin of 9.71% and a return on equity of 203.66%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.91 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be issued a $1.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.15%. AbbVie’s payout ratio is 183.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at AbbVie

In related news, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 66,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.52, for a total transaction of $12,403,580.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 446,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $83,299,645.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 282,845 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $49,497,875.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 513,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $89,792,325. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 66,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.52, for a total transaction of $12,403,580.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 446,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $83,299,645.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AbbVie

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 31,799 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,928,000 after purchasing an additional 2,373 shares during the period. Belpointe Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 34,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,354,000 after buying an additional 403 shares during the period. Arbor Capital Management Inc. ADV acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie in the fourth quarter worth about $4,449,000. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its position in shares of AbbVie by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,374,846 shares of the company’s stock worth $213,060,000 after purchasing an additional 93,443 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blueshift Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the fourth quarter worth approximately $775,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Company Profile

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.