AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Hits New 12-Month High Following Earnings Beat

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $205.35 and last traded at $205.13, with a volume of 43616 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $201.50.

The company reported $3.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.92 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $14.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.28 billion. AbbVie had a net margin of 9.22% and a return on equity of 226.99%. AbbVie’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.95 earnings per share.

AbbVie Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be issued a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.22%. This is a positive change from AbbVie’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. AbbVie’s payout ratio is presently 215.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of AbbVie from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on AbbVie from $214.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup boosted their target price on AbbVie from $215.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Piper Sandler raised 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $201.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at AbbVie

In other news, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 66,500 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.52, for a total value of $12,403,580.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 446,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $83,299,645.48. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Palisade Asset Management LLC boosted its position in AbbVie by 65.6% in the 1st quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC now owns 97,341 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,726,000 after buying an additional 38,562 shares during the last quarter. First Hawaiian Bank boosted its stake in AbbVie by 9.0% during the 2nd quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 32,099 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,506,000 after acquiring an additional 2,657 shares during the last quarter. PGGM Investments grew its holdings in AbbVie by 308.1% during the 2nd quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 32,790 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,624,000 after acquiring an additional 24,756 shares in the last quarter. Foresight Capital Management Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,349,000. Finally, Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. raised its stake in shares of AbbVie by 29.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 27,003 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,333,000 after purchasing an additional 6,161 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Stock Down 0.2 %

The firm has a market cap of $359.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 70.68, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.63. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $194.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $179.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.51, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

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.