AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Stock Price Up 1.8%

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) shares traded up 1.8% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $167.44 and last traded at $167.14. 1,193,372 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 5,592,379 shares. The stock had previously closed at $164.25.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on AbbVie from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of AbbVie from $188.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Raymond James boosted their target price on AbbVie from $181.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Barclays upped their price target on AbbVie from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, William Blair upgraded AbbVie from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AbbVie presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $177.43.

AbbVie Trading Up 1.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.02, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $175.44 and a 200 day moving average of $160.10. The firm has a market cap of $294.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.96, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.58.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The company reported $2.79 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.03. AbbVie had a net margin of 8.95% and a return on equity of 162.28%. The company had revenue of $14.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.60 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 11.18 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a $1.55 dividend. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. AbbVie’s payout ratio is 227.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 21,082 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.30, for a total value of $3,716,756.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 55,903 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,855,698.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 21,082 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.30, for a total value of $3,716,756.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,903 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,855,698.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 52,870 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.71, for a total value of $9,184,047.70. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 243,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,375,512.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 383,324 shares of company stock valued at $67,780,003 over the last ninety days. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AbbVie

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. IFS Advisors LLC bought a new position in AbbVie in the first quarter valued at about $36,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the 1st quarter valued at about $37,000. Able Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in AbbVie during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.