AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) have received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-five research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $211.45.

ABBV has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $212.00 to $214.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Daiwa America lowered AbbVie from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Raymond James reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $220.00 target price (up from $218.00) on shares of AbbVie in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Erste Group Bank upgraded AbbVie to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $212.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,985,223.60. This represents a 40.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of the firm'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 owns 22,381 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,429,199.90. This trade represents a 20.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 54,639 shares of company stock valued at $11,067,025. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

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Institutional Investors Weigh In On AbbVie

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of ABBV. Groupama Asset Managment increased its position in AbbVie by 40.3% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 135,749 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 38,974 shares during the last quarter. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in AbbVie in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. EnRich Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in AbbVie by 196.4% during the fourth 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. Finally, Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company's stock.

AbbVie Trading Up 2.2 %

NYSE ABBV traded up $4.54 on Friday, reaching $209.83. The company had a trading volume of 11,093,562 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,725,897. The firm has a market cap of $371.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 87.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. AbbVie has a fifty-two week low of $153.58 and a fifty-two week high of $218.66. The business has a 50 day moving average of $198.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $189.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $2.79 EPS. Analysts forecast that AbbVie will post 12.31 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

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. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 273.33%.

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.