AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Shares Up 0.6% – Should You Buy?

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)’s share price was up 0.6% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $175.20 and last traded at $172.78. Approximately 8,474,425 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 41% from the average daily volume of 5,997,458 shares. The stock had previously closed at $171.68.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $214.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $200.00 to $223.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. BMO Capital Markets raised 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. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $194.00 price target on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 price objective (up previously from $218.00) on shares of AbbVie in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AbbVie presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $210.71.

AbbVie Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $198.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $187.99. The company has a market cap of $305.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 71.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.66.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.79 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.80%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is currently 273.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at AbbVie

In related news, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total value of $1,143,466.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,429,199.90. This represents a 20.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.90, for a total transaction 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 $8,985,223.60. This represents a 40.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 113,471 shares of company stock valued at $23,426,451 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AbbVie

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bell Bank boosted its holdings in AbbVie by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Bell Bank now owns 73,770 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,456,000 after acquiring an additional 620 shares during the period. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co boosted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 18.5% during the first quarter. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co now owns 16,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,352,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares during the period. Edge Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 10.6% in the first quarter. Edge Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,256 shares of the company’s stock worth $682,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. Lesa Sroufe & Co purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie in the first quarter worth $545,000. Finally, Vista Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in AbbVie by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Vista Investment Partners LLC now owns 28,942 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,064,000 after buying an additional 175 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.