Analysts Set AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) Target Price at $267.67

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-five ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seventeen have assigned a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $267.6667.

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on AbbVie from $230.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on AbbVie from $265.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded AbbVie from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, July 5th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $234.00 to $276.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Monday, June 8th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of AbbVie by 17.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 22,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,072,000 after purchasing an additional 3,401 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in AbbVie by 72.7% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 7,279 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,294,000 after purchasing an additional 3,064 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. grew its stake in AbbVie by 5.0% during the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 16,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,056,000 after buying an additional 789 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC increased its holdings in AbbVie by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 120,035 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,281,000 after buying an additional 5,274 shares during the period. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC increased its holdings in AbbVie by 117.3% in the 2nd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 1,135,034 shares of the company’s stock valued at $210,685,000 after buying an additional 612,702 shares during the period. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting AbbVie

Here are the key news stories impacting AbbVie this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AbbVie reported quiet but meaningful pipeline progress in its ABBV-8736 injection study, which could support longer-term growth expectations if the program continues to advance. AbbVie’s ABBV-8736 Injection Study Signals Quiet But Meaningful Pipeline Progress
• Positive Sentiment: Some coverage says AbbVie should be able to preserve its dividend even after the $10.9 billion Apogee acquisition because the deal is being funded with debt rather than cash, reducing immediate pressure on reserves. How Will AbbVie’s $10.9 Billion Acquisition of Apogee Impact Its Dividend?
• Neutral Sentiment: Broker coverage and article commentary pointed to higher earnings estimates for AbbVie, but also noted the stock may be stretched versus its growth outlook, leaving the market split on whether upside is already priced in. Erste Group Bank Brokers Boost Earnings Estimates for AbbVie
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader pharma commentary placed AbbVie alongside other large drugmakers and suggested it has outperformed the S&P 500, but also described its valuation as relatively elevated compared with growth expectations. 3 Biggest Pharma Giants: Buy, Sell or Hold?
• Negative Sentiment: Some market commentary around AbbVie’s eye-care exposure raised questions about whether the company is pulling back from that segment, which could signal strategic uncertainty for part of its portfolio. BLOG: Exit stage left: Is AbbVie leaving eye care?

AbbVie Stock Down 0.4%

AbbVie stock opened at $253.37 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $230.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $222.04. The stock has a market cap of $447.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 124.81, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.30. AbbVie has a twelve month low of $184.63 and a twelve month high of $261.64.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.06. AbbVie had a negative return on equity of 576.45% and a net margin of 5.79%.The company had revenue of $15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.72 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.46 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that AbbVie will post 14.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 15th will be issued a $1.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 15th. This represents a $6.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. AbbVie’s payout ratio is currently 340.89%.

AbbVie Company Profile

AbbVie is a global, research-driven biopharmaceutical company that was created as a spin-off from Abbott Laboratories in 2013 and is headquartered in North Chicago, Illinois. The company focuses on discovering, developing and commercializing therapies for complex and often chronic medical conditions. Its operations span research and development, manufacturing, regulatory affairs and commercialization, with an emphasis on bringing specialty medicines to market across multiple therapeutic areas.

AbbVie’s product portfolio and pipeline cover several major therapeutic categories, including immunology, oncology, neuroscience, virology and women’s health.