AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Trading Up 0.7% on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) rose 0.7% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Guggenheim raised their price target on the stock from $214.00 to $216.00. Guggenheim currently has a buy rating on the stock. AbbVie traded as high as $194.16 and last traded at $193.70. Approximately 1,669,926 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average daily volume of 6,046,283 shares. The stock had previously closed at $192.34.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of AbbVie from $200.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of AbbVie from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on AbbVie from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on AbbVie from $204.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $210.00 price target on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AbbVie has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $211.41.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 18,944 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.41, for a total transaction of $3,853,399.04. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,496 shares in the company, valued at $2,338,401.36. The trade was a 62.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total value of $1,143,466.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,381 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,429,199.90. This trade represents a 20.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 113,471 shares of company stock valued at $23,426,451 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of AbbVie

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABBV. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in AbbVie by 30.4% during the fourth quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 223 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of AbbVie by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,110 shares of the company's stock valued at $553,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Peninsula Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of AbbVie by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Peninsula Wealth LLC now owns 1,360 shares of the company's stock valued at $242,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Physicians Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Physicians Financial Services Inc. now owns 12,150 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,159,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connecticut Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AbbVie Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $341.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 80.71, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.55. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $196.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $187.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

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

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.39%. 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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