AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Trading Up 1.1% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• AbbVie Inc. shares rose by 1.1% during trading, reaching a last traded price of $232.07, although trading volume was down 30% from its average.
• Analysts have recently downgraded AbbVie from "buy" to "hold," with a consensus price target of $234.80, while Piper Sandler has raised its price target to $284.00.
• AbbVie announced a quarterly dividend of $1.64 per share, to be paid on November 14, with a significant payout ratio of 312.38%.

Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) were up 1.1% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $232.26 and last traded at $232.07. Approximately 4,504,411 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 30% from the average daily volume of 6,469,849 shares. The stock had previously closed at $229.57.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ABBV shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of AbbVie from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, October 11th. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of AbbVie from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of AbbVie from $231.00 to $284.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of AbbVie from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $234.80.

AbbVie Trading Up 1.1%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The firm's 50 day moving average is $218.58 and its 200 day moving average is $197.84. The company has a market capitalization of $409.97 billion, a PE ratio of 110.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.51.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.97 EPS 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 analysts' expectations of $14.93 billion. AbbVie had a return on equity of 699.66% and a net margin of 6.45%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.65 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 15th. AbbVie's payout ratio is 312.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 42,370 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 177,292 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,178,278.64. The trade was a 19.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.51, for a total transaction of $2,639,190.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 58,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,562,611.97. This trade represents 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 have recently bought and sold shares of ABBV. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 3,380,842 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 2nd quarter worth $4,288,200,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased 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 worth $4,612,357,000 after purchasing an additional 189,294 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company's stock.

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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