AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Trading Down 0.5% - Time to Sell?

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) traded down 0.5% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $189.80 and last traded at $194.18. 1,434,856 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 6,058,659 shares. The stock had previously closed at $195.10.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ABBV shares. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of AbbVie from $200.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of AbbVie from $241.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of AbbVie from $214.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Erste Group Bank raised AbbVie to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on AbbVie from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $211.41.

AbbVie Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $196.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $187.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $351.35 billion, a PE ratio of 82.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.56.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $13.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.91 billion. AbbVie had a return on equity of 296.28% and a net margin of 7.59%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.31 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.30%. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 279.15%.

Insider Transactions at AbbVie

In related news, EVP Jeffrey Ryan Stewart sold 58,832 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.08, for a total value of $12,359,426.56. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 53,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,183,398.72. The trade was a 52.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total transaction of $1,143,466.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,381 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,429,199.90. This trade represents a 20.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 113,471 shares of company stock valued at $23,426,451. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of AbbVie

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in AbbVie by 30.4% in the fourth quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 223 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in AbbVie by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,110 shares of the company's stock worth $553,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Peninsula Wealth LLC boosted its position in AbbVie by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Peninsula Wealth LLC now owns 1,360 shares of the company's stock valued at $242,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Physicians Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Physicians Financial Services Inc. now owns 12,150 shares of the company's stock worth $2,159,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, Connecticut Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of AbbVie by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,711 shares of the company's stock worth $660,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. 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.