AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Trading Up 1.8% After Analyst Upgrade

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) shares rose 1.8% on Monday after Evercore ISI raised their price target on the stock from $204.00 to $205.00. Evercore ISI currently has an outperform rating on the stock. AbbVie traded as high as $191.32 and last traded at $189.41. Approximately 2,998,309 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 50% from the average daily volume of 6,034,044 shares. The stock had previously closed at $186.06.

ABBV has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $211.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $210.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup boosted their target price on AbbVie from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on AbbVie from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Raymond James reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $220.00 price objective (up previously from $218.00) on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $211.32.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 22,381 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,429,199.90. This trade represents a 20.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 18,944 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.41, for a total value of $3,853,399.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,496 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,338,401.36. This trade represents a 62.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 113,471 shares of company stock worth $23,426,451 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AbbVie

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in AbbVie by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,110 shares of the company's stock valued at $553,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Peninsula Wealth LLC grew its holdings in AbbVie by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Peninsula Wealth LLC now owns 1,360 shares of the company's stock valued at $242,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Physicians Financial Services Inc. increased its position in AbbVie by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Physicians Financial Services Inc. now owns 12,150 shares of the company's stock worth $2,159,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connecticut Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of AbbVie by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,711 shares of the company's stock worth $660,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AbbVie Trading Up 1.7 %

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $196.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $187.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $334.57 billion, a PE ratio of 78.91, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.66.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.51 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $13.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.91 billion. AbbVie had a return on equity of 296.28% and a net margin of 7.59%. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.31 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

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 paid a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 279.15%.

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.

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