AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Raymond James Financial Analyst Says

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial has raised its price target for AbbVie from $227.00 to $236.00, indicating a potential upside of 21.02% from the current price and maintaining an "outperform" rating.
• Despite reporting earnings of $2.97 per share, AbbVie missed analysts' estimates, which were set at $3.24, but reported revenue of $15.42 billion, exceeding their predictions.
• Investment sentiment is mixed with eight analysts

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) had its price target increased by Raymond James Financial from $227.00 to $236.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on ABBV. BNP Paribas raised AbbVie to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on AbbVie from $204.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $194.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $210.00 target price for the company. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on AbbVie to $205.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $212.81.

AbbVie Trading Up 3.3%

NYSE ABBV traded up $6.15 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $195.17. 8,081,230 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,440,562. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $188.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $190.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14. AbbVie has a 52 week low of $163.81 and a 52 week high of $218.66. The stock has a market cap of $344.75 billion, a PE ratio of 92.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.50.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last issued 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 518.10% and a net margin of 6.45%. The company had revenue of $15.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.65 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that AbbVie 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 Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be given a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio is presently 279.15%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AbbVie

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Crestline Management LP increased its position in shares of AbbVie by 438.4% in the 4th quarter. Crestline Management LP now owns 35,311 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,275,000 after acquiring an additional 28,753 shares during the period. Narus Financial Partners LLC increased its position in shares of AbbVie by 25.3% in the 1st quarter. Narus Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,988 shares of the company's stock valued at $417,000 after acquiring an additional 401 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of AbbVie by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,367,162 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,664,489,000 after acquiring an additional 108,993 shares during the period. AXA S.A. increased its position in shares of AbbVie by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 971,893 shares of the company's stock valued at $172,705,000 after acquiring an additional 125,568 shares during the period. Finally, Highland Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of AbbVie by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 46,853 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,817,000 after acquiring an additional 2,792 shares during the period. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.