AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Sets New 1-Year High - Here's Why

Key Points

• AbbVie Inc. has reached a new 52-week high of $221.50 during trading, with the stock closing last at $219.76.
• Analysts have set positive price targets for AbbVie, with Piper Sandler at $231.00 and Guggenheim at $227.00, contributing to a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.64, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 3.0%, with the payout ratio at 312.38%.

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $221.50 and last traded at $219.76, with a volume of 1062188 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $211.64.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on ABBV. Piper Sandler began coverage on AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $231.00 price target for the company. Daiwa Capital Markets raised AbbVie from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $214.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on AbbVie from $216.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered AbbVie from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on AbbVie from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, AbbVie has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $214.95.

AbbVie Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $388.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 104.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.53. The business has a 50-day moving average of $199.06 and a 200 day moving average of $194.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.97 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.24 by ($0.27). The firm had revenue of $15.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.93 billion. AbbVie had a net margin of 6.45% and a return on equity of 699.66%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.65 earnings per share. On average, 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 15th will be issued a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 15th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio is currently 312.38%.

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In other news, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 42,370 shares of the company'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 completion of the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of the company'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 value of $2,639,190.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 58,247 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,562,611.97. This represents a 18.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AbbVie

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in AbbVie in the second quarter valued at approximately $4,288,200,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in AbbVie by 25,841.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 10,234,737 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,144,382,000 after purchasing an additional 10,195,284 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in AbbVie in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,819,154,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in AbbVie by 18,384.4% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,705,964 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,059,141,000 after purchasing an additional 5,675,095 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in AbbVie by 550.9% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,332,054 shares of the company's stock valued at $804,116,000 after purchasing an additional 3,666,521 shares during the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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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