AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Stock Price Up 0.4% – Should You Buy?

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) shares were up 0.4% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $212.42 and last traded at $212.39. Approximately 784,049 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 6,037,558 shares. The stock had previously closed at $211.55.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ABBV shares. Daiwa America lowered AbbVie from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Guggenheim increased their target price on AbbVie from $212.00 to $214.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Leerink Partnrs upgraded AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on AbbVie from $224.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 target price (up previously from $218.00) on shares of AbbVie in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Five 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $211.45.

AbbVie Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $374.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 88.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $191.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $188.10.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 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 quarter last year, the company earned $2.79 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie’s payout ratio is 273.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total value of $1,143,466.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,429,199.90. This trade represents a 20.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 18,944 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,496 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,338,401.36. This represents a 62.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 56,439 shares of company stock valued at $11,377,057 over the last three months. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AbbVie

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. EnRich Financial Partners LLC grew its position in AbbVie by 196.4% during the fourth quarter. EnRich Financial Partners LLC now owns 166 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. 70.23% of the stock is 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.