AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $205.19, but opened at $210.30. AbbVie shares last traded at $205.65, with a volume of 960,803 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on ABBV shares. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of AbbVie from $200.00 to $223.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group upped their target price on AbbVie from $181.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on AbbVie from $224.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 target price (up from $218.00) on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $211.45.

AbbVie Stock Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $200.61 and a 200-day moving average of $189.24. The company has a market cap of $330.06 billion, a PE ratio of 77.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($0.82). AbbVie had a net margin of 7.59% and a return on equity of 296.28%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.79 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.52%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is 273.33%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Jeffrey Ryan Stewart sold 58,832 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.08, for a total value of $12,359,426.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 53,234 shares in the company, valued at $11,183,398.72. This trade represents a 52.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total value of $1,143,466.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,429,199.90. The trade was a 20.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 113,471 shares of company stock valued at $23,426,451. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AbbVie

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 30.4% in the 4th quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 223 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of AbbVie by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,110 shares of the company’s stock valued at $553,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Peninsula Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Peninsula Wealth LLC now owns 1,360 shares of the company’s stock valued at $242,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Physicians Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in AbbVie by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Physicians Financial Services Inc. now owns 12,150 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,159,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, Connecticut Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,711 shares of the company’s stock valued at $660,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

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.