AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Trading 1.1% Higher - What's Next?

Key Points

• AbbVie Inc. shares rose 1.1% to $222.93, with a significant trading volume decline of 24% from the average.
• Equities analysts are optimistic, with several firms raising their price targets, including JPMorgan’s upgrade to $235.00 and a consensus target price of $223.45.
• AbbVie announced a quarterly dividend of $1.64 per share, reflecting a 2.9% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 312.38%.

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) shares were up 1.1% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $223.24 and last traded at $222.93. Approximately 4,915,364 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 24% from the average daily volume of 6,443,523 shares. The stock had previously closed at $220.61.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of AbbVie from $200.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Daiwa Capital Markets raised shares of AbbVie from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $214.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $207.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Daiwa America upgraded shares of AbbVie from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of AbbVie to $204.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $223.45.

AbbVie Stock Up 1.1%

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $207.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $195.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14. The firm has a market cap of $393.82 billion, a PE ratio of 106.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.53.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last posted 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). 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%. AbbVie's revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.65 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 15th will be paid a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 15th. AbbVie's 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 dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.42, for a total transaction of $8,407,055.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 177,292 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 18.58% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AbbVie

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ABBV. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in AbbVie by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 177,298,707 shares of the company's stock worth $32,910,186,000 after acquiring an additional 3,380,842 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in AbbVie by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 39,178,351 shares of the company's stock worth $7,240,169,000 after purchasing an additional 924,761 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in AbbVie by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 26,783,329 shares of the company's stock worth $4,970,848,000 after purchasing an additional 1,517,222 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie during the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,288,200,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of AbbVie by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 22,013,920 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,612,357,000 after acquiring an additional 189,294 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.

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