AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Trading 1.2% Higher – Here’s Why

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)’s share price traded up 1.2% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $230.71 and last traded at $229.66. 6,520,089 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 1% from the average session volume of 6,476,399 shares. The stock had previously closed at $226.87.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price objective (up previously from $236.00) on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Friday. Erste Group Bank downgraded AbbVie from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Daiwa America raised AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Bank of America lifted their price target on AbbVie from $220.00 to $251.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price target on AbbVie from $216.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $234.05.

AbbVie Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $405.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 109.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $217.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $197.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.24 by ($0.27). The company had revenue of $15.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.93 billion. AbbVie had a net margin of 6.45% and a return on equity of 699.66%. AbbVie’s revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.65 EPS. Research analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 15th will be issued a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 15th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 312.38%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.51, for a total value of $2,639,190.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 58,247 shares in the company, valued at $11,562,611.97. This trade represents a 18.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 42,370 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.42, for a total value of $8,407,055.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 177,292 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,178,278.64. The trade was a 19.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AbbVie

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ABBV. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in AbbVie by 17.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 22,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,072,000 after purchasing an additional 3,401 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in AbbVie by 72.7% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 7,279 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,294,000 after purchasing an additional 3,064 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in AbbVie by 23.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 48,848 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,235,000 after purchasing an additional 9,395 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its holdings in AbbVie by 0.8% during the first quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 25,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,406,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the period. Finally, Advisor Resource Council bought a new position in AbbVie during the first quarter worth about $1,853,000. 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.