AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Trading Down 0.9% – Time to Sell?

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)’s share price was down 0.9% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $211.59 and last traded at $211.99. Approximately 942,393 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 5,200,987 shares. The stock had previously closed at $213.85.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ABBV. Daiwa America downgraded AbbVie from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Daiwa Capital Markets cut shares of AbbVie from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Piper Sandler Companies restated an “overweight” rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of AbbVie in a research note 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 research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, AbbVie currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $211.45.

AbbVie Stock Down 1.2 %

The company has a market cap of $372.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 88.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $192.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $188.31.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share (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 last year, the business posted $2.79 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.11%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is currently 273.33%.

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In other AbbVie news, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.90, for a total transaction of $6,070,159.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,985,223.60. The trade was a 40.32 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,381 shares in the company, valued at $4,429,199.90. This trade represents a 20.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 54,639 shares of company stock valued at $11,067,025. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AbbVie

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ABBV. Groupama Asset Managment grew 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 buying an additional 38,974 shares during the last quarter. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in AbbVie in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. EnRich Financial Partners LLC grew its position in shares of AbbVie by 196.4% during the 4th quarter. EnRich Financial Partners LLC now owns 166 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. 70.23% of the stock is 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.