AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $216.59 and last traded at $216.45, with a volume of 1105505 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $214.29.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on ABBV shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $224.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler upped their target price on AbbVie from $212.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. Daiwa America downgraded shares of AbbVie from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets lowered AbbVie from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AbbVie has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $211.45.

AbbVie Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $377.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 89.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $189.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $187.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($0.82). AbbVie had a net margin of 7.59% and a return on equity of 296.28%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.79 EPS. Analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders 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 yield of 3.07%. AbbVie’s payout ratio is currently 273.33%.

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In related news, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total transaction of $1,143,466.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,429,199.90. This trade represents a 20.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 1,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.24, for a total transaction of $310,032.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,202,751.92. The trade was a 20.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 56,439 shares of company stock worth $11,377,057. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of ABBV. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in AbbVie in the third quarter worth $28,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. EnRich Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 196.4% during the 4th quarter. EnRich Financial Partners LLC now owns 166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors 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.