AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts have given AbbVie Inc. a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy", with an average price target of $214.95.
• Insider selling has been observed, with EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt selling over 42,000 shares valued at approximately $8.4 million.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.64, representing an annual yield of 3.1%, despite a high dividend payout ratio of 312.38%.

Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-seven research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, sixteen have given a buy recommendation and five have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $214.9524.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on ABBV shares. Citigroup increased their price objective on AbbVie to $205.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Daiwa Capital Markets raised AbbVie from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $214.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on AbbVie from $204.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen cut AbbVie from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price objective on AbbVie from $216.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st.

Insider Buying and Selling at AbbVie

In related news, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 42,370 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.42, for a total transaction of $8,407,055.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 177,292 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $35,178,278.64. The trade was a 19.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.51, for a total value of $2,639,190.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 58,247 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,562,611.97. The trade was a 18.58% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AbbVie

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ABBV. Crestline Management LP lifted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 438.4% during the fourth quarter. Crestline Management LP now owns 35,311 shares of the company's stock worth $6,275,000 after purchasing an additional 28,753 shares in the last quarter. Narus Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 25.3% in the first quarter. Narus Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,988 shares of the company's stock worth $417,000 after acquiring an additional 401 shares in the last quarter. AXA S.A. lifted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 971,893 shares of the company's stock worth $172,705,000 after acquiring an additional 125,568 shares in the last quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 6.3% in the first quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 46,853 shares of the company's stock worth $9,817,000 after acquiring an additional 2,792 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Weaver Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 3.9% in the first quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC now owns 8,240 shares of the company's stock worth $1,727,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company's stock.

AbbVie Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of ABBV stock opened at $210.2840 on Monday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $192.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $192.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $371.48 billion, a PE ratio of 100.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.50. AbbVie has a fifty-two week low of $163.81 and a fifty-two week high of $218.66.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.97 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.24 by ($0.27). The business had revenue of $15.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.93 billion. AbbVie had a net margin of 6.45% and a return on equity of 699.66%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.65 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that AbbVie will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th were issued a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 15th. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 312.38%.

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.

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