AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) EVP Sells $6,070,159.30 in Stock

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.90, for a total value of $6,070,159.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,985,223.60. This trade represents a 40.32 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

AbbVie Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of ABBV stock traded up $4.05 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $209.07. 13,131,981 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,058,054. AbbVie Inc. has a 1 year low of $153.58 and a 1 year high of $209.60. The company’s 50 day moving average is $183.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $186.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94. The firm has a market cap of $369.09 billion, a PE ratio of 87.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.58.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted its 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 return on equity of 296.28% and a net margin of 7.59%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.79 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.14%. AbbVie’s payout ratio is currently 273.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Argus raised AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on AbbVie from $212.00 to $214.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler Companies reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on AbbVie from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on AbbVie from $224.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $208.35.

Institutional Trading of AbbVie

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter worth approximately $190,000. Total Wealth Planning & Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,616,000. Menard Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of AbbVie by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 6,786 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,206,000 after buying an additional 518 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter worth approximately $273,301,000. Finally, Brooklyn FI LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,083,000. Hedge funds and other 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.