AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Trading 1.1% Higher – What’s Next?

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) shares rose 1.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $184.24 and last traded at $183.08. Approximately 5,271,481 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 5% from the average daily volume of 5,555,972 shares. The stock had previously closed at $181.14.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on ABBV shares. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on AbbVie from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Leerink Partnrs raised AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $203.50.

AbbVie Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $323.53 billion, a PE ratio of 63.57, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.63. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $188.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $181.59. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $3.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.92 by $0.08. AbbVie had a net margin of 9.22% and a return on equity of 244.01%. The business had revenue of $14.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.28 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.95 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be issued a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.58%. This is an increase from AbbVie’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is currently 215.28%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AbbVie

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ABBV. State Street Corp raised its holdings in AbbVie by 1.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 79,067,935 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,614,329,000 after acquiring an additional 1,267,685 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in shares of AbbVie by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 15,277,480 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,620,382,000 after purchasing an additional 134,239 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of AbbVie by 3.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 13,630,404 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,691,732,000 after purchasing an additional 511,470 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in AbbVie by 6.1% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 10,175,926 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,009,542,000 after purchasing an additional 582,953 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in AbbVie by 4.2% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,330,779 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,842,642,000 after buying an additional 373,802 shares in the last quarter. 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.