Bank of America Reiterates Neutral Rating for AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV)

Bank of America restated their neutral rating on shares of AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage currently has a $191.00 target price on the stock.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on ABBV. Leerink Partnrs upgraded AbbVie from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded AbbVie from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $180.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on AbbVie from $212.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on AbbVie from $231.00 to $224.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on AbbVie from $195.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $202.19.

AbbVie Trading Down 0.5 %

ABBV traded down $0.90 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $175.67. 4,048,442 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,518,841. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64. The company has a market cap of $310.43 billion, a PE ratio of 61.00, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.58. The firm's fifty day moving average is $186.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $182.67. AbbVie has a 1-year low of $150.16 and a 1-year high of $207.32.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $3.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.92 by $0.08. AbbVie had a return on equity of 244.01% and a net margin of 9.22%. The business had revenue of $14.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.95 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that AbbVie will post 10.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. This is a boost from AbbVie's previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.73%. AbbVie's payout ratio is currently 215.28%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AbbVie

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ABBV. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 1,745.0% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,728,063 shares of the company's stock worth $933,698,000 after acquiring an additional 4,471,806 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of AbbVie by 1.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 79,067,935 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,614,329,000 after purchasing an additional 1,267,685 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of AbbVie by 314.1% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,315,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $225,549,000 after purchasing an additional 997,441 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of AbbVie by 7.6% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,841,189 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,516,358,000 after purchasing an additional 623,569 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of AbbVie by 6.1% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 10,175,926 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,009,542,000 after purchasing an additional 582,953 shares during the period. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.