AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Stock Price Up 0.5% - Should You Buy?

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) shot up 0.5% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $198.11 and last traded at $197.33. 981,030 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 5,734,237 shares. The stock had previously closed at $196.25.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on ABBV. Bank of America restated a "neutral" rating and set a $191.00 price target on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on AbbVie from $212.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Argus upgraded AbbVie from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Piper Sandler Companies restated an "overweight" rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Daiwa America lowered AbbVie from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $208.35.

AbbVie Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $181.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $186.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94. The company has a market cap of $356.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 84.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.58.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.98 by ($0.82). AbbVie had a net margin of 7.59% and a return on equity of 296.28%. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.79 earnings per share. Analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 273.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 1,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.24, for a total transaction of $310,032.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,983 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,202,751.92. This represents a 20.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of AbbVie

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. GGM Financials LLC increased its stake in AbbVie by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. GGM Financials LLC now owns 6,895 shares of the company's stock worth $1,362,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Dillon & Associates Inc. increased its stake in AbbVie by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Dillon & Associates Inc. now owns 6,914 shares of the company's stock worth $1,362,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in AbbVie by 30.4% during the 4th quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 223 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in AbbVie by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,110 shares of the company's stock worth $553,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Peninsula Wealth LLC increased its stake in AbbVie by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Peninsula Wealth LLC now owns 1,360 shares of the company's stock worth $242,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.