AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Stock Price Up 2.4% – Here’s What Happened

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)’s stock price rose 2.4% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $209.75 and last traded at $210.13. Approximately 1,792,041 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 69% from the average daily volume of 5,689,929 shares. The stock had previously closed at $205.29.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on ABBV shares. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of AbbVie from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on AbbVie from $224.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on AbbVie from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 price target (up from $218.00) on shares of AbbVie in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $212.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, AbbVie has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $211.45.

AbbVie Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $370.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 87.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $197.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $188.91.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 296.28% and a net margin of 7.59%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.79 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is presently 273.33%.

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In other AbbVie news, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.90, for a total transaction of $6,070,159.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,985,223.60. The trade was a 40.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total value of $1,143,466.20. Following the completion of 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 54,639 shares of company stock worth $11,067,025. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AbbVie

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its holdings in AbbVie by 40.3% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 135,749 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 38,974 shares during the period. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in AbbVie in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. EnRich Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in AbbVie by 196.4% during the 4th quarter. EnRich Financial Partners LLC now owns 166 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. 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.