AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Stock Price Up 0.7% on Analyst Upgrade

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)’s stock price shot up 0.7% during trading on Tuesday after Guggenheim raised their price target on the stock from $214.00 to $216.00. Guggenheim currently has a buy rating on the stock. AbbVie traded as high as $194.16 and last traded at $193.70. 1,669,926 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 6,046,283 shares. The stock had previously closed at $192.34.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup raised their price target on AbbVie from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America boosted their price objective on AbbVie from $200.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on AbbVie in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $210.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on AbbVie from $211.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.41.

Insider Transactions at AbbVie

In other AbbVie news, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total value of $1,143,466.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,381 shares in the company, valued at $4,429,199.90. This represents a 20.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was 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 $8,985,223.60. This represents a 40.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 113,471 shares of company stock valued at $23,426,451. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AbbVie

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in AbbVie during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. EnRich Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of AbbVie by 196.4% in the fourth quarter. EnRich Financial Partners LLC now owns 166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of AbbVie in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AbbVie Trading Up 0.6 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94. The stock has a market cap of $342.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 80.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.55. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $196.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $187.16.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.06. AbbVie had a net margin of 7.59% and a return on equity of 296.28%. The business had revenue of $13.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.31 earnings per share. AbbVie’s revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.39%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 279.15%.

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.