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

Key Points

• AbbVie Inc. has received an average analyst rating of "Moderate Buy", with 16 analysts recommending a buy and three issuing a strong buy on the stock.
• The average 12-month price target for AbbVie stock is $231.90, with some firms raising their targets as high as $260.00.
• AbbVie recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.64 per share, reflecting a 2.8% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 312.38%.

Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-eight research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, sixteen have given a buy recommendation and three have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $231.9048.

ABBV has been the topic of several research analyst reports. HSBC set a $225.00 target price on AbbVie in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on AbbVie from $200.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on AbbVie from $215.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, September 12th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on AbbVie from $216.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on AbbVie from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, September 12th.

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 stock was sold at an average price of $198.51, for a total transaction of $2,639,190.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 58,247 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,562,611.97. This trade represents a 18.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 value of $8,407,055.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 177,292 shares of the company's stock, valued at $35,178,278.64. This represents a 19.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ABBV. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in AbbVie by 17.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 22,912 shares of the company's stock worth $4,072,000 after acquiring an additional 3,401 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in AbbVie by 72.7% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 7,279 shares of the company's stock worth $1,294,000 after acquiring an additional 3,064 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in AbbVie by 23.8% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 48,848 shares of the company's stock worth $10,235,000 after acquiring an additional 9,395 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in AbbVie by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 536,450 shares of the company's stock worth $112,398,000 after acquiring an additional 25,385 shares during the period. Finally, Good Life Advisors LLC lifted its position in AbbVie by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 54,416 shares of the company's stock worth $11,401,000 after acquiring an additional 2,319 shares during the period. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AbbVie Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of AbbVie stock opened at $230.36 on Tuesday. AbbVie has a 1 year low of $163.81 and a 1 year high of $244.81. The firm has a market cap of $406.94 billion, a PE ratio of 109.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.51. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $215.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $196.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.61.

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

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. 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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