AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Shares Down 5.6% – What’s Next?

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) shares fell 5.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $169.07 and last traded at $169.71. 3,130,375 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 47% from the average session volume of 5,876,295 shares. The stock had previously closed at $179.84.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler upped their price target on AbbVie from $212.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of AbbVie from $200.00 to $223.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of AbbVie to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered AbbVie from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $210.71.

AbbVie Stock Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $200.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $188.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $308.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 72.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.55.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last released 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 firm earned $2.79 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

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 issued a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.76%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is presently 273.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total value of $1,143,466.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,381 shares in the company, valued at $4,429,199.90. This trade represents a 20.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Jeffrey Ryan Stewart sold 58,832 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.08, for a total value of $12,359,426.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 53,234 shares in the company, valued at $11,183,398.72. This represents a 52.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 113,471 shares of company stock worth $23,426,451. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its stake in AbbVie by 40.3% during the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 135,749 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 38,974 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. EnRich Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in AbbVie by 196.4% during the 4th quarter. EnRich Financial Partners LLC now owns 166 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the period. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

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.