AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• AbbVie Inc. has received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with 17 buy recommendations and four strong buy recommendations among a total of 27 ratings firms.
• The company’s quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $2.97, which fell short of the consensus estimate of $3.24, but revenue for the quarter was $15.42 billion, exceeding analyst expectations.
• AbbVie announced a quarterly dividend of $1.64 per share, representing a yield of 3.0%, with a payout ratio significantly high at 312.38%.

Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-seven ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seventeen have assigned a buy recommendation and four have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $222.6818.

Several analysts have recently commented on ABBV shares. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of AbbVie from $216.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of AbbVie to $205.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of AbbVie from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on shares of AbbVie from $215.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded shares of AbbVie from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $214.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 7th.

AbbVie Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of AbbVie stock opened at $221.93 on Friday. AbbVie has a 12-month low of $163.81 and a 12-month high of $222.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14. The stock has a market cap of $392.05 billion, a PE ratio of 105.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a 50-day moving average of $202.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $194.91.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.65 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that AbbVie will post 12.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 15th will be given a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 15th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 312.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.51, for a total transaction of $2,639,190.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 58,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,562,611.97. This trade represents a 18.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 42,370 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 177,292 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,178,278.64. This trade represents a 19.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AbbVie

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. First Hawaiian Bank raised its stake in AbbVie by 0.8% during the second quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 7,556 shares of the company's stock worth $1,403,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Narus Financial Partners LLC raised its stake in AbbVie by 25.3% during the first quarter. Narus Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,988 shares of the company's stock worth $417,000 after purchasing an additional 401 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC raised its stake in AbbVie by 6.3% during the first quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 46,853 shares of the company's stock worth $9,817,000 after purchasing an additional 2,792 shares during the period. Weaver Capital Management LLC raised its stake in AbbVie by 3.9% during the first quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC now owns 8,240 shares of the company's stock worth $1,727,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the period. Finally, North Star Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in AbbVie by 0.5% during the first quarter. North Star Asset Management Inc. now owns 161,320 shares of the company's stock worth $33,800,000 after purchasing an additional 756 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.

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