AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Trading Up 2.8% – Still a Buy?

Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) rose 2.8% on Monday . The company traded as high as $179.91 and last traded at $179.91. Approximately 1,269,117 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 5,929,216 shares. The stock had previously closed at $175.05.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABBV has been the topic of several recent research reports. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of AbbVie from $200.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of AbbVie to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of AbbVie from $181.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of AbbVie from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 target price (up previously from $218.00) on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $210.71.

AbbVie Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $200.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $188.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94. The firm has a market cap of $317.12 billion, a PE ratio of 74.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.55.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $2.79 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.66%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is currently 273.33%.

Insider Transactions at AbbVie

In related news, EVP Jeffrey Ryan Stewart sold 58,832 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 53,234 shares in the company, valued at $11,183,398.72. This trade represents a 52.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.90, for a total value of $6,070,159.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,284 shares in the company, valued at $8,985,223.60. This represents a 40.32 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 113,471 shares of company stock worth $23,426,451. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ABBV. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. EnRich Financial Partners LLC raised its stake in AbbVie by 196.4% during the fourth quarter. EnRich Financial Partners LLC now owns 166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

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.