AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Shares Up 1.2% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• AbbVie Inc. shares increased by 1.2%, reaching a last trading price of $211.68, with a significant drop in trading volume compared to its average.
• Research firms have varied ratings for AbbVie, with five analysts giving a Strong Buy rating and a consensus price target of $214.95.
• AbbVie recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.64 per share, translating to an annualized payout of $6.56 and a dividend yield of 3.1%.

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report)'s share price shot up 1.2% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $211.71 and last traded at $211.68. 1,135,337 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 6,647,736 shares. The stock had previously closed at $209.15.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ABBV. Piper Sandler began coverage on AbbVie in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $231.00 price target for the company. Daiwa America upgraded AbbVie from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered AbbVie from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. BNP Paribas upgraded AbbVie to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on AbbVie from $227.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AbbVie presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $214.95.

AbbVie Price Performance

The company's 50-day simple moving average is $192.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $192.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $373.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 100.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 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 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 analyst estimates 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.65 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th were given a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 15th. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio is currently 312.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling at AbbVie

In related news, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 42,370 shares of the company's 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 177,292 shares in the company, valued at $35,178,278.64. This represents a 19.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 58,247 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AbbVie

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. FF Advisors LLC boosted its stake in AbbVie by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. FF Advisors LLC now owns 1,539 shares of the company's stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Landaas & Co. WI ADV boosted its stake in AbbVie by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Landaas & Co. WI ADV now owns 4,955 shares of the company's stock valued at $920,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Bernardo Wealth Planning LLC boosted its stake in AbbVie by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bernardo Wealth Planning LLC now owns 1,909 shares of the company's stock valued at $354,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Private Management Group Inc. boosted its stake in AbbVie by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 2,938 shares of the company's stock valued at $616,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LifeSteps Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. LifeSteps Financial Inc. now owns 7,358 shares of the company's stock worth $1,366,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is currently 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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