AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $188.71.

Several research analysts recently commented on ABBV shares. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of AbbVie from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Piper Sandler Companies reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of AbbVie from $191.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on AbbVie from $180.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th.

AbbVie Stock Performance

ABBV opened at $185.16 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $326.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.94, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.64. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $167.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $169.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.93. AbbVie has a 52-week low of $135.85 and a 52-week high of $186.85.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.57 by $0.08. AbbVie had a return on equity of 186.82% and a net margin of 9.71%. The company had revenue of $14.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.91 EPS. AbbVie’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that AbbVie will post 10.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 15th will be paid a $1.55 dividend. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 183.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AbbVie news, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 282,845 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $49,497,875.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 513,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $89,792,325. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AbbVie

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABBV. American National Bank lifted its stake in AbbVie by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. American National Bank now owns 59,392 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,204,000 after acquiring an additional 2,695 shares in the last quarter. AXS Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of AbbVie by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. AXS Investments LLC now owns 9,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,477,000 after purchasing an additional 307 shares in the last quarter. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 17,043 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,641,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 33.4% in the fourth quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 30,914 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,791,000 after purchasing an additional 7,737 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Opinicus Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,296,000. 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.