AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Trading 0.5% Higher – Should You Buy?

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)’s share price shot up 0.5% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $203.12 and last traded at $202.26. 1,758,089 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 67% from the average session volume of 5,252,809 shares. The stock had previously closed at $201.34.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABBV has been the topic of several recent research reports. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 target price (up previously from $218.00) on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup raised their target price on AbbVie from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler upped their price target on AbbVie from $212.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $224.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Daiwa America lowered AbbVie from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AbbVie has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $211.45.

AbbVie Price Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $196.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $188.96. 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 company has a market capitalization of $362.85 billion, a PE ratio of 85.47, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61.

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 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 quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.79 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.20%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 273.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,985,223.60. This represents a 40.32 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 18,944 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.41, for a total value of $3,853,399.04. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,496 shares in the company, valued at $2,338,401.36. This represents a 62.23 % 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 over the last quarter. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AbbVie

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABBV. M1 Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter worth about $229,000. DSG Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,213,000. Chancellor Financial Group WB LP purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $981,000. Thoma Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter worth approximately $551,000. Finally, Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter worth approximately $104,347,000. Hedge funds and other 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.