AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Trading Up 2.2% - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• AbbVie Inc. shares increased by 2.2% in trading on Thursday, reaching a high of $198.83 before settling at $193.57, with trading volume significantly lower than average.
• The company reported quarterly earnings of $2.97 per share, missing estimates, yet showing a 6.6% revenue growth compared to the previous year.
• AbbVie declared a quarterly dividend of $1.64 per share, translating to an annual yield of 3.5%, with a substantial dividend payout ratio of 279.15%.

Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) traded up 2.2% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $198.83 and last traded at $193.57. 2,525,520 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 63% from the average session volume of 6,812,887 shares. The stock had previously closed at $189.31.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of AbbVie from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of AbbVie to $204.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $194.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of AbbVie to $205.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $210.00 price target for the company. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AbbVie presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $212.81.

AbbVie Stock Up 3.1%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.76. The company has a market capitalization of $344.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 82.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.48. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $188.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $190.04.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.24 by ($0.27). AbbVie had a net margin of 7.31% and a return on equity of 412.03%. The business had revenue of $15.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.65 earnings per share. AbbVie's revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be issued a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio is presently 279.15%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AbbVie

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in AbbVie by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,765,408 shares of the company's stock valued at $513,316,000 after acquiring an additional 12,455 shares during the last quarter. Schmidt P J Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in AbbVie by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Schmidt P J Investment Management Inc. now owns 34,748 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,450,000 after acquiring an additional 396 shares during the last quarter. Yukon Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in AbbVie by 4.5% during the second quarter. Yukon Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,616 shares of the company's stock valued at $300,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC lifted its stake in AbbVie by 1.9% during the second quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 14,945 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,774,000 after buying an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Banco Santander S.A. lifted its stake in AbbVie by 77.0% during the second quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 152,257 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,262,000 after buying an additional 66,231 shares in the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About AbbVie

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.