AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Trading Up 0.4%

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)’s share price rose 0.4% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $174.59 and last traded at $174.39. Approximately 558,444 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 90% from the average daily volume of 5,513,715 shares. The stock had previously closed at $173.61.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays cut their price target on shares of AbbVie from $195.00 to $187.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on AbbVie from $191.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. HSBC raised AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of AbbVie from $180.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AbbVie presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $185.31.

AbbVie Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $321.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.93, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $166.94 and its 200-day moving average is $169.29.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $12.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.93 billion. AbbVie had a net margin of 11.02% and a return on equity of 179.47%. The company’s revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.46 EPS. Analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 15th will be paid a $1.55 dividend. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 183.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 282,845 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $49,497,875.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 513,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $89,792,325. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of AbbVie

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABBV. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in AbbVie in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Able Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. IFS Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in AbbVie in the first quarter worth about $37,000. 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.