AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Trading Up 3.7% - What's Next?

Key Points

• AbbVie Inc.'s share price increased by 3.7% to $231.47, with trading volume rising to approximately 9.14 million shares, a 42% increase compared to the average.
• Analysts have upgraded AbbVie to a strong-buy rating, with a consensus target price of $223.45 and significant upgrades from firms like BMO Capital Markets.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.64 per share, which will be paid on November 14th, representing a 2.8% yield.

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report)'s share price was up 3.7% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $232.35 and last traded at $231.47. Approximately 9,141,039 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 42% from the average daily volume of 6,458,370 shares. The stock had previously closed at $223.16.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on ABBV shares. Daiwa America upgraded AbbVie from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Monday, August 25th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on AbbVie from $215.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, September 12th. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded AbbVie from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $214.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on AbbVie to $204.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $223.45.

AbbVie Stock Performance

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 company has a market cap of $408.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 110.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a fifty day moving average of $207.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $195.12.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.24 by ($0.27). AbbVie had a net margin of 6.45% and a return on equity of 699.66%. The firm had revenue of $15.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.93 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.65 EPS. The company's revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 15th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 312.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling at AbbVie

In related news, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 42,370 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 177,292 shares of the company's stock, valued at $35,178,278.64. This trade represents a 19.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.51, for a total value of $2,639,190.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 58,247 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,562,611.97. This represents a 18.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Marshall & Sullivan Inc. WA bought a new position in AbbVie during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of AbbVie in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. TD Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of AbbVie by 82.9% in the 1st quarter. TD Capital Management LLC now owns 128 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of AbbVie in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Abound Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of AbbVie in the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AbbVie Company Profile

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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