AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Shares Up 1.6% – Time to Buy?

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)’s share price shot up 1.6% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $196.84 and last traded at $196.02. 1,760,529 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 69% from the average session volume of 5,752,276 shares. The stock had previously closed at $192.87.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on ABBV. Truist Financial raised their price objective on AbbVie from $211.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on AbbVie from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup raised their target price on AbbVie from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded AbbVie from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on AbbVie in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $205.00 target price on the stock. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $208.35.

AbbVie Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $347.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 81.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64. The company has a 50-day moving average of $179.25 and a 200-day moving average of $186.06.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced 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 return on equity of 257.91% and a net margin of 7.59%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.79 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 273.33%.

Insider Transactions at AbbVie

In other news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 1,800 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.24, for a total value of $310,032.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,202,751.92. This trade represents a 20.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vega Investment Solutions bought a new position in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter worth about $221,000. Strait & Sound Wealth Management LLC increased its position in AbbVie by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Strait & Sound Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,031 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,782,000 after buying an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Helium Advisors LLC bought a new stake in AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at about $295,000. Breakthru Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at about $286,000. Finally, Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new stake in AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at about $254,000. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.