AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Downgraded to “Neutral” Rating by Daiwa Capital Markets

Daiwa Capital Markets lowered shares of AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) from an outperform rating to a neutral rating in a research note released on Thursday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has $180.00 target price on the stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. TD Cowen increased their price target on AbbVie from $195.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Leerink Partnrs raised AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays increased their price target on AbbVie from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on AbbVie from $196.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on AbbVie to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $202.38.

AbbVie Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABBV opened at $176.22 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64. AbbVie has a twelve month low of $144.73 and a twelve month high of $207.32. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $187.14 and its 200-day moving average is $182.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $311.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.19, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.58.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $3.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.92 by $0.08. AbbVie had a return on equity of 244.01% and a net margin of 9.22%. The company had revenue of $14.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.95 earnings per share. AbbVie’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that AbbVie will post 10.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.64 per share. This is an increase from AbbVie’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.72%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is presently 215.28%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new position in AbbVie in the 3rd quarter worth about $4,768,000. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 32.8% during the 3rd quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,732 shares of the company’s stock valued at $539,000 after buying an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. American Trust raised its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. American Trust now owns 6,691 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,321,000 after buying an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Old North State Trust LLC increased its stake in AbbVie by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Old North State Trust LLC now owns 7,432 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,468,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp increased its stake in AbbVie by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 209,463 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,364,000 after purchasing an additional 10,697 shares during the period. 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.