AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Trading 2.8% Higher Following Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• AbbVie's share price increased by 2.8% after Morgan Stanley raised their price target from $250.00 to $255.00 and maintained an overweight rating.
• Recent analysis shows that 70.23% of AbbVie’s stock is owned by institutional investors, with several firms increasing their stakes significantly in the last quarter.
• AbbVie announced a quarterly dividend of $1.64 per share, reflecting an annual yield of 3.4%, with a payout ratio of 279.15%.

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report)'s share price rose 2.8% during trading on Friday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $250.00 to $255.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock. AbbVie traded as high as $196.38 and last traded at $194.38. Approximately 1,951,974 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 6,833,639 shares. The stock had previously closed at $189.02.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on ABBV. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of AbbVie to $205.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of AbbVie in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $210.00 price target on the stock. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of AbbVie from $216.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of AbbVie to $204.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $194.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $212.81.

Institutional Trading of AbbVie

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Schmidt P J Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of AbbVie by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Schmidt P J Investment Management Inc. now owns 34,748 shares of the company's stock worth $6,450,000 after acquiring an additional 396 shares during the last quarter. Yukon Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of AbbVie by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. Yukon Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,616 shares of the company's stock worth $300,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of AbbVie by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 14,945 shares of the company's stock worth $2,774,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. increased its position in shares of AbbVie by 77.0% during the 2nd quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 152,257 shares of the company's stock worth $28,262,000 after purchasing an additional 66,231 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of AbbVie by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 40,944 shares of the company's stock worth $7,600,000 after purchasing an additional 1,543 shares during the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AbbVie Stock Up 2.8%

The business has a 50-day moving average of $188.10 and a 200-day moving average of $190.04. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $343.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 82.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.48.

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

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

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

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.

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