AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Stock Price Up 0.7% – Here’s Why

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) shares rose 0.7% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $183.46 and last traded at $183.00. Approximately 883,442 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 5,516,177 shares. The stock had previously closed at $181.77.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABBV has been the subject of several recent research reports. Argus raised AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on AbbVie from $212.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. William Blair upgraded AbbVie to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on AbbVie to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of AbbVie from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $203.50.

AbbVie Trading Down 2.7 %

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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $187.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $182.21. The firm has a market cap of $311.99 billion, a PE ratio of 61.30, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.58.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $3.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.92 by $0.08. AbbVie had a net margin of 9.22% and a return on equity of 244.01%. The business had revenue of $14.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.28 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.95 earnings per share. AbbVie’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.95 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be given a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. This is a positive change from AbbVie’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. AbbVie’s payout ratio is currently 227.78%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AbbVie

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie in the third quarter worth $28,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in AbbVie during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new stake in AbbVie during the second quarter valued at $27,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in AbbVie during the third quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. increased its position in AbbVie by 100.0% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 100 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.