AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Stock Price Up 1.8% – Here’s Why

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)’s stock price traded up 1.8% on Monday . The company traded as high as $217.62 and last traded at $218.09. 1,999,462 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 67% from the average session volume of 5,987,263 shares. The stock had previously closed at $214.29.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on ABBV shares. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of AbbVie from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Leerink Partnrs upgraded AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered AbbVie from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on AbbVie from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on AbbVie from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AbbVie has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $211.45.

AbbVie Trading Down 1.4 %

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $189.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $187.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $377.28 billion, a PE ratio of 89.05, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.66.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($0.82). AbbVie had a net margin of 7.59% and a return on equity of 296.28%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.79 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.07%. AbbVie’s payout ratio is presently 273.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at AbbVie

In other AbbVie news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 18,944 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.41, for a total transaction of $3,853,399.04. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,496 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,338,401.36. This trade represents a 62.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.90, for a total transaction of $6,070,159.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,985,223.60. The trade was a 40.32 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 56,439 shares of company stock valued at $11,377,057 over the last ninety days. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of AbbVie

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ABBV. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its position in shares of AbbVie by 40.3% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 135,749 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 38,974 shares in the last quarter. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of AbbVie during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. EnRich Financial Partners LLC boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. 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.