AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Trading Up 0.5% – Still a Buy?

Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) were up 0.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $176.63 and last traded at $175.23. Approximately 2,780,022 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 48% from the average daily volume of 5,378,220 shares. The stock had previously closed at $174.43.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABBV has been the subject of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of AbbVie from $196.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Guggenheim upped their target price on AbbVie from $212.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on AbbVie from $195.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. William Blair raised AbbVie to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of AbbVie from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AbbVie presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $204.06.

AbbVie Stock Down 1.9 %

The company has a market capitalization of $302.36 billion, a PE ratio of 60.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.63. The company’s fifty day moving average is $194.14 and its 200-day moving average is $180.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.65.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $3.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 9.22% and a return on equity of 244.01%. AbbVie’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.95 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be issued a $1.64 dividend. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.83%. AbbVie’s payout ratio is currently 227.78%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AbbVie

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. GGM Financials LLC grew its position in shares of AbbVie by 0.7% during the third quarter. GGM Financials LLC now owns 6,895 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,362,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc boosted its stake in AbbVie by 0.3% during the third quarter. Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc now owns 18,102 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,575,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Dillon & Associates Inc. increased its stake in AbbVie by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Dillon & Associates Inc. now owns 6,914 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,362,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Frisch Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Frisch Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,187,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Citizens Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of AbbVie by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. First Citizens Financial Corp now owns 5,777 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,141,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

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.