AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Shares Up 2.9% – Here’s What Happened

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) traded up 2.9% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $177.36 and last traded at $176.77. 2,024,944 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 63% from the average session volume of 5,479,688 shares. The stock had previously closed at $171.73.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on ABBV shares. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of AbbVie from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday. William Blair upgraded AbbVie to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Citigroup decreased their price target on AbbVie from $226.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Argus raised shares of AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $203.50.

AbbVie Stock Up 3.0 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $312.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.44, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.63. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $189.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $181.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.54.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $3.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.92 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $14.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.28 billion. AbbVie had a return on equity of 244.01% and a net margin of 9.22%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.95 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be given a $1.64 dividend. This is a boost from AbbVie’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.71%. AbbVie’s payout ratio is presently 215.28%.

Institutional Trading of AbbVie

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ABBV. GGM Financials LLC raised its position in AbbVie by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. GGM Financials LLC now owns 6,895 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,362,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc lifted its stake in AbbVie by 0.3% in the third quarter. Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc now owns 18,102 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,575,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. Dillon & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in AbbVie by 0.8% in the third quarter. Dillon & Associates Inc. now owns 6,914 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,362,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Frisch Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in AbbVie by 0.8% in the second quarter. Frisch Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,187,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Citizens Financial Corp raised its holdings in AbbVie by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. First Citizens Financial Corp now owns 5,777 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,141,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.