AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Morgan Stanley Analyst Says

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) had its price target increased by Morgan Stanley from $218.00 to $231.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on AbbVie from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. William Blair raised shares of AbbVie to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler Companies reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AbbVie presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $201.00.

AbbVie Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABBV opened at $203.55 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $359.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 70.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.51. AbbVie has a 1-year low of $135.85 and a 1-year high of $207.32. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $194.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $179.60.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $3.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.92 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $14.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.28 billion. AbbVie had a net margin of 9.22% and a return on equity of 226.99%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.95 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that AbbVie will post 10.95 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be given a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.22%. This is an increase from AbbVie’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. AbbVie’s payout ratio is currently 215.28%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AbbVie

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ABBV. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in AbbVie during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Quest Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 4,140.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 212 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in AbbVie in the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Burkett Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in AbbVie by 61.2% during the 3rd quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

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.