AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Stock Price Up 0.5% – Should You Buy?

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)’s share price traded up 0.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $198.11 and last traded at $197.33. 981,030 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 5,734,237 shares. The stock had previously closed at $196.25.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $205.00 target price for the company. Truist Financial lifted their target price on AbbVie from $211.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of AbbVie from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Leerink Partners raised shares of AbbVie from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $206.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of AbbVie from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $208.35.

AbbVie Stock Performance

The business’s 50-day moving average is $179.67 and its 200 day moving average is $186.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.65. The company has a market cap of $348.84 billion, a PE ratio of 82.27, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.58.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.98 by ($0.82). AbbVie had a net margin of 7.59% and a return on equity of 257.91%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.79 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie’s payout ratio is 273.33%.

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In other AbbVie news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 1,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.24, for a total value of $310,032.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,202,751.92. The trade was a 20.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of AbbVie

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in AbbVie during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. EnRich Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in AbbVie by 196.4% in the 4th quarter. EnRich Financial Partners LLC now owns 166 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. 70.23% of the stock is owned by 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.