Kevin K. Buckbee Sells 18,944 Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) Stock

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 18,944 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.41, for a total value of $3,853,399.04. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,496 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,338,401.36. The trade was a 62.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

AbbVie Stock Up 2.0 %

ABBV stock opened at $209.07 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $184.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $186.95. The company has a market cap of $369.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 87.11, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.58. AbbVie Inc. has a 12-month low of $153.58 and a 12-month high of $209.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($0.82). AbbVie had a return on equity of 296.28% and a net margin of 7.59%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.79 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.14%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is 273.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABBV has been the subject of a number of research reports. Guggenheim increased their price target on AbbVie from $212.00 to $214.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on AbbVie from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Argus raised AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on AbbVie in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $205.00 price target for the company. Finally, Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 price objective (up from $218.00) on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $208.35.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AbbVie

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ABBV. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 40.3% during the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 135,749 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 38,974 shares during the last quarter. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. EnRich Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 196.4% during the 4th quarter. EnRich Financial Partners LLC now owns 166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.