AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Stock Price Crosses Below 200-Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) crossed below its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $183.76 and traded as low as $177.29. AbbVie shares last traded at $178.01, with a volume of 2,743,851 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on ABBV shares. Wolfe Research began coverage on AbbVie in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $205.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $195.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of AbbVie to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of AbbVie from $228.00 to $208.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets lowered AbbVie from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Five research 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. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.70.

AbbVie Price Performance

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 has a fifty day simple moving average of $181.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $183.76. The company has a market capitalization of $314.57 billion, a PE ratio of 61.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.58.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $3.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.92 by $0.08. AbbVie had a net margin of 9.22% and a return on equity of 244.01%. The company had revenue of $14.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.95 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.96 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be issued a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. This is an increase from AbbVie’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.69%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 227.78%.

Insider Transactions at AbbVie

In other AbbVie news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 1,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $1,202,751.92. This trade represents a 20.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABBV. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in AbbVie in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. 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 purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Quest Partners LLC boosted its stake in AbbVie by 4,140.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 212 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marquette Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in AbbVie during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.