Piper Sandler Boosts AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Price Target to $209.00

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) had its target price boosted by Piper Sandler from $196.00 to $209.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of AbbVie from $211.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a buy rating and issued a $210.00 target price (up previously from $195.00) on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an overweight rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $187.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $191.64.

AbbVie Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ABBV opened at $197.55 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $178.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $173.15. AbbVie has a fifty-two week low of $135.85 and a fifty-two week high of $197.98. The company has a market capitalization of $348.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.93, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.94.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.57 by $0.08. AbbVie had a net margin of 9.71% and a return on equity of 186.82%. The firm had revenue of $14.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.02 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.91 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that AbbVie will post 10.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 15th were issued a $1.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 15th. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.14%. AbbVie’s payout ratio is 183.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at AbbVie

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AbbVie

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. IFS Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the 1st quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the 1st quarter worth $37,000. 70.23% of the stock is 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.