AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Trading 1.2% Higher - Here's Why

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) shares traded up 1.2% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $180.50 and last traded at $179.23. 1,742,637 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 6,009,398 shares. The stock had previously closed at $177.05.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ABBV shares. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $194.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday. They set an "overweight" rating and a $210.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on AbbVie from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com lowered AbbVie from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of AbbVie in a report on Friday, April 11th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $211.19.

AbbVie Stock Up 3.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.66. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $196.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $187.18. The stock has a market cap of $328.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.55.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.46 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.51 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $13.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.91 billion. AbbVie had a net margin of 7.59% and a return on equity of 296.28%. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.31 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 273.33%.

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In related news, EVP Jeffrey Ryan Stewart sold 58,832 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.08, for a total value of $12,359,426.56. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 53,234 shares in the company, valued at $11,183,398.72. The trade was a 52.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 18,944 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.41, for a total transaction of $3,853,399.04. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,496 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,338,401.36. The trade was a 62.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 113,471 shares of company stock worth $23,426,451 over the last quarter. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AbbVie

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ABBV. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. EnRich Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in AbbVie in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.23% of the company's stock.

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.