AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Trading 0.1% Higher – Here’s What Happened

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) rose 0.1% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $171.67 and last traded at $171.22. Approximately 1,877,602 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 65% from the average daily volume of 5,399,910 shares. The stock had previously closed at $171.09.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on ABBV. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of AbbVie from $196.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. TD Cowen lifted their target price on AbbVie from $195.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on AbbVie in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $203.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on AbbVie from $231.00 to $224.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $203.83.

AbbVie Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $299.76 billion, a PE ratio of 58.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.63. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $193.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $180.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.65.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $3.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.92 by $0.08. The firm 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 244.01%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.95 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.95 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. This is a positive change from AbbVie’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.87%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 215.28%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AbbVie

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GGM Financials LLC boosted its holdings in AbbVie by 0.7% during the third quarter. GGM Financials LLC now owns 6,895 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,362,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc boosted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc now owns 18,102 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,575,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Dillon & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Dillon & Associates Inc. now owns 6,914 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,362,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Frisch Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of AbbVie by 0.8% in the second quarter. Frisch Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,187,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Citizens Financial Corp raised its holdings in AbbVie by 0.9% during the third quarter. First Citizens Financial Corp now owns 5,777 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,141,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. 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.