AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Stock Price Up 0.5% – Here’s Why

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)’s share price was up 0.5% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $201.80 and last traded at $201.43. Approximately 526,273 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 90% from the average daily volume of 5,302,833 shares. The stock had previously closed at $200.51.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABBV has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of AbbVie from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Argus raised AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Truist Financial increased their price target on AbbVie from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on AbbVie from $195.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.82.

AbbVie Trading Down 0.5 %

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $194.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $180.61. The firm has a market cap of $352.54 billion, a PE ratio of 69.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 9.22% and a return on equity of 244.01%. The company had revenue of $14.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.28 billion. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.95 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.96 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be given a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. This is an increase from AbbVie’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is 215.28%.

Institutional Trading of AbbVie

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ABBV. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new stake in AbbVie during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of AbbVie by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 200 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie during the third quarter valued at $39,000. 70.23% of the stock is currently 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.