AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Stock Price Up 1.1% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• AbbVie shares rose 1.1% in mid-day trading, closing near $256 after hitting an intraday high of $257.06, on volume below average.
• Analysts remain broadly positive: RBC, HSBC, UBS, and Canaccord all recently updated their views, and the stock now carries a consensus “Moderate Buy” with an average target price of $267.67.
• AbbVie reported strong quarterly results with EPS of $2.65 versus $2.59 expected and revenue of $15 billion, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $1.73 per share, yielding about 2.7% annually.

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) rose 1.1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $257.06 and last traded at $256.18. Approximately 4,267,353 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 40% from the average session volume of 7,100,591 shares. The stock had previously closed at $253.38.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on ABBV. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. HSBC restated a "buy" rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Monday, July 6th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of AbbVie from $230.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $265.00 to $273.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $267.67.

AbbVie Stock Up 1.1%

The business has a fifty day moving average of $230.81 and a 200 day moving average of $222.04. The firm has a market cap of $452.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 126.20, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.30.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.72 billion. AbbVie had a negative return on equity of 576.45% and a net margin of 5.79%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.46 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 14.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 15th will be paid a $1.73 dividend. This represents a $6.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 15th. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio is presently 340.89%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AbbVie

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ABBV. Litman Gregory Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Imprint Wealth LLC raised its holdings in AbbVie by 56.2% during the 4th quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC now owns 125 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID lifted its stake in AbbVie by 115.9% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID now owns 136 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About AbbVie

AbbVie is a global, research-driven biopharmaceutical company that was created as a spin-off from Abbott Laboratories in 2013 and is headquartered in North Chicago, Illinois. The company focuses on discovering, developing and commercializing therapies for complex and often chronic medical conditions. Its operations span research and development, manufacturing, regulatory affairs and commercialization, with an emphasis on bringing specialty medicines to market across multiple therapeutic areas.

AbbVie's product portfolio and pipeline cover several major therapeutic categories, including immunology, oncology, neuroscience, virology and women's health.

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