AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Stock Price Up 2% - Here's What Happened

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) shares shot up 2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $175.09 and last traded at $174.94. 2,559,459 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 54% from the average session volume of 5,541,099 shares. The stock had previously closed at $171.52.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Leerink Partnrs raised AbbVie from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. William Blair raised shares of AbbVie to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 30th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays upped their target price on shares of AbbVie from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on AbbVie from $228.00 to $208.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $205.70.

AbbVie Stock Up 2.4 %

The firm has a market cap of $310.27 billion, a PE ratio of 60.97, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.65. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $182.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $183.34.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $3.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.92 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $14.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.28 billion. AbbVie had a return on equity of 244.01% and a net margin of 9.22%. AbbVie's quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.95 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be given a dividend of $1.64 per share. This is an increase from AbbVie's previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. AbbVie's payout ratio is presently 227.78%.

Insider Transactions at AbbVie

In related news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 1,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.24, for a total value of $310,032.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,983 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,202,751.92. This represents a 20.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of AbbVie

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp lifted its position in AbbVie by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 79,067,935 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,614,329,000 after acquiring an additional 1,267,685 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in shares of AbbVie by 0.9% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 15,277,480 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,620,382,000 after purchasing an additional 134,239 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 3.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 13,630,404 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,691,732,000 after purchasing an additional 511,470 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of AbbVie by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 10,175,926 shares of the company's stock worth $2,009,542,000 after purchasing an additional 582,953 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of AbbVie by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,330,779 shares of the company's stock worth $1,842,642,000 after buying an additional 373,802 shares during the last quarter. 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.