AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Trading 1.8% Higher Following Strong Earnings

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) shares traded up 1.8% during trading on Monday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $191.32 and last traded at $189.41. 2,998,309 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 50% from the average session volume of 6,034,044 shares. The stock had previously closed at $186.06.

The company reported $2.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.06. AbbVie had a return on equity of 296.28% and a net margin of 7.59%. The firm had revenue of $13.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.31 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 279.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on ABBV. StockNews.com upgraded AbbVie from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday. UBS Group raised their price target on AbbVie from $181.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $204.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $214.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of AbbVie from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, AbbVie has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $211.32.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total transaction of $1,143,466.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,429,199.90. The trade was a 20.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.90, for a total value of $6,070,159.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,985,223.60. This trade represents a 40.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 113,471 shares of company stock valued at $23,426,451 in the last quarter. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AbbVie

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ABBV. Castle Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Castle Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,725 shares of the company’s stock valued at $361,000 after buying an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. North Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie in the first quarter valued at about $385,000. Barlow Wealth Partners Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 2.9% in the first quarter. Barlow Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 3,499 shares of the company’s stock worth $733,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its position in shares of AbbVie by 1.1% during the first quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 252,633 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,932,000 after purchasing an additional 2,807 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its stake in AbbVie by 8.8% during the 1st quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 3,439 shares of the company’s stock valued at $721,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the period. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AbbVie Trading Up 3.4 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.66. The company has a market capitalization of $340.40 billion, a PE ratio of 80.18, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.55. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $196.75 and a 200 day moving average of $187.12.

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.