AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Stock Price Up 0.4% on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) shot up 0.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $185.00 to $195.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. AbbVie traded as high as $181.38 and last traded at $181.05. 662,827 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 5,616,420 shares. The stock had previously closed at $180.35.

ABBV has been the subject of a number of other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised AbbVie from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $173.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, December 11th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on AbbVie from $188.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on AbbVie from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. William Blair raised shares of AbbVie from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Raymond James upped their target price on shares of AbbVie from $181.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $177.43.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 21,082 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.30, for a total transaction of $3,716,756.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 55,903 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,855,698.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Jeffrey Ryan Stewart sold 58,949 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.79, for a total transaction of $10,539,491.71. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 60,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,895,641.39. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 21,082 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.30, for a total value of $3,716,756.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,903 shares in the company, valued at $9,855,698.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 383,324 shares of company stock valued at $67,780,003. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. VitalStone Financial LLC grew its position in AbbVie by 218.4% during the 2nd quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 242 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. Able Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AbbVie Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $174.15 and a 200 day moving average of $157.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.02, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $321.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 66.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.58.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The company reported $2.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.76 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $14.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.02 billion. AbbVie had a net margin of 8.95% and a return on equity of 162.28%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.60 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 11.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $1.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $6.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.42%. AbbVie’s payout ratio is 227.11%.

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.