AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Trading Up 0.6% – Here’s What Happened

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)’s stock price traded up 0.6% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $175.20 and last traded at $172.78. 8,474,425 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 41% from the average session volume of 5,997,458 shares. The stock had previously closed at $171.68.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on ABBV shares. Citigroup increased their price objective on AbbVie from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com cut shares of AbbVie from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of AbbVie from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley reissued a “hold” rating on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on AbbVie from $211.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $210.71.

AbbVie Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94. The company has a market cap of $305.64 billion, a PE ratio of 71.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.55. The business’s fifty day moving average is $198.85 and its 200-day moving average is $187.99.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 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 prior year, the company earned $2.79 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie’s payout ratio is currently 273.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AbbVie

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ABBV. Quantbot Technologies LP raised its stake in shares of AbbVie by 35.8% in the fourth quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 1,047 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of AbbVie by 41.3% during the fourth quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 53,171 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,448,000 after buying an additional 15,550 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 39,453 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,011,000 after buying an additional 3,439 shares during the period. Sky Investment Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Sky Investment Group LLC now owns 42,715 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,590,000 after acquiring an additional 3,936 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital boosted its holdings in AbbVie by 16.5% during the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 25,822 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,523,000 after acquiring an additional 3,654 shares during the period. 70.23% of the stock is owned by 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.