AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 14,860,000 shares, a decrease of 16.5% from the September 15th total of 17,790,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,710,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.2 days. Approximately 0.8% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling at AbbVie

In other AbbVie news, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 66,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.52, for a total value of $12,403,580.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 446,599 shares of the company's stock, valued at $83,299,645.48. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 66,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.52, for a total transaction of $12,403,580.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 446,599 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $83,299,645.48. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 282,845 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $49,497,875.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 513,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $89,792,325. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AbbVie

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABBV. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in AbbVie during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Able Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. IFS Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 4,140.0% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 212 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.23% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABBV has been the topic of several analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a report on Monday, August 5th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on AbbVie from $196.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on AbbVie from $180.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on AbbVie from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on AbbVie from $195.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $198.00.

AbbVie Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of ABBV traded up $1.67 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $195.86. 3,623,861 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,296,504. AbbVie has a 52 week low of $135.85 and a 52 week high of $199.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.51, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $345.86 billion, a PE ratio of 58.12, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.63. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $194.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $177.47.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.08. AbbVie had a return on equity of 203.66% and a net margin of 9.71%. The company had revenue of $14.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.02 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.91 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that AbbVie will post 10.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio is currently 183.98%.

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.