AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Shares Up 1.2% - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• AbbVie recently traded up 1.2% to $203.85, although this was significantly lower than its average trading volume of nearly 6.7 million shares.
• The company's last earnings report revealed a missed estimate with an EPS of $2.97 versus the expected $3.24, despite a 6.6% year-over-year revenue increase to $15.42 billion.
• Analysts have mostly given AbbVie a Moderate Buy rating, with an average target price of $214.95, and notable price target increases from Guggenheim and Raymond James Financial.

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded up 1.2% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $203.86 and last traded at $203.85. 770,968 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 6,699,376 shares. The stock had previously closed at $201.47.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of AbbVie in a report on Tuesday. They set an "overweight" rating and a $231.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America boosted 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. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of AbbVie in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $210.00 price objective on the stock. Daiwa America upgraded shares of AbbVie from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $204.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $214.95.

AbbVie Stock Up 1.0%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $365.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 98.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.50. The business's 50-day moving average is $191.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $192.08.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last announced 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 company had revenue of $15.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.93 billion. AbbVie had a return on equity of 699.66% and a net margin of 6.45%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.65 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th were issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 15th. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 312.38%.

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In other AbbVie news, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 42,370 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.42, for a total transaction of $8,407,055.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 177,292 shares of the company's stock, valued at $35,178,278.64. This represents a 19.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AbbVie

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. TD Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of AbbVie by 82.9% in the first quarter. TD Capital Management LLC now owns 128 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Marshall & Sullivan Inc. WA bought a new position in shares of AbbVie in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Abound Financial LLC bought a new position in AbbVie during the first quarter worth $30,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in AbbVie during the second quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Cypress Capital Management LLC WY bought a new position in AbbVie during the first quarter worth $35,000. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.