AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Trading Up 1% – Time to Buy?

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)’s share price shot up 1% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $206.80 and last traded at $205.12. 1,244,664 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 5,751,059 shares. The stock had previously closed at $203.01.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on ABBV. Argus raised shares of AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $191.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $211.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of AbbVie from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of AbbVie from $212.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $208.35.

AbbVie Trading Up 2.0 %

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $184.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $186.98. The company has a market capitalization of $369.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 87.11, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.98 by ($0.82). AbbVie had a return on equity of 296.28% and a net margin of 7.59%. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.79 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is currently 273.33%.

Insider Transactions at AbbVie

In related news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 18,944 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.41, for a total transaction of $3,853,399.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,496 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,338,401.36. This trade represents a 62.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $8,985,223.60. The trade was a 40.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 56,439 shares of company stock valued at $11,377,057 over the last 90 days. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in AbbVie in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in AbbVie in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. EnRich Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in AbbVie in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in AbbVie in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.