AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Trading Up 0.5% – Here’s Why

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) traded up 0.5% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $212.15 and last traded at $210.66. 1,848,588 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 6,323,382 shares. The stock had previously closed at $209.52.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABBV has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $212.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $181.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Erste Group Bank upgraded AbbVie to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler Companies reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to 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 cap of $367.60 billion, a PE ratio of 86.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $198.27 and a 200-day moving average of $189.02. 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 announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share 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 period in the previous year, the company earned $2.79 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.16%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is currently 273.33%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now 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 SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.90, for a total transaction of $6,070,159.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,284 shares in the company, 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. Insiders sold 54,639 shares of company stock valued at $11,067,025 in the last three months. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of AbbVie

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Groupama Asset Managment raised its stake in AbbVie by 40.3% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 135,749 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 38,974 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. EnRich Financial Partners LLC raised its position 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 during the last quarter. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.