AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Shares Up 0.6% – Still a Buy?

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) was up 0.6% on Friday . The company traded as high as $202.16 and last traded at $202.14. Approximately 1,003,202 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 5,691,604 shares. The stock had previously closed at $200.88.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on ABBV shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on AbbVie from $224.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $191.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on AbbVie from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of AbbVie in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $205.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $208.35.

AbbVie Stock Up 1.5 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $180.68 and its 200-day moving average is $186.29. The company has a market cap of $359.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 84.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.58.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 EPS 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 296.28%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.79 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.32 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 dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.22%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 273.33%.

Insider Transactions at AbbVie

In other AbbVie news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 1,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.24, for a total transaction of $310,032.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,202,751.92. This represents a 20.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. GGM Financials LLC boosted its position in AbbVie by 0.7% during the third quarter. GGM Financials LLC now owns 6,895 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,362,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Dillon & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in AbbVie by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Dillon & Associates Inc. now owns 6,914 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,362,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in AbbVie by 30.4% in the 4th quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in AbbVie by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,110 shares of the company’s stock valued at $553,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. Finally, Peninsula Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of AbbVie by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Peninsula Wealth LLC now owns 1,360 shares of the company’s stock worth $242,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. 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.