AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Shares Up 1.2% – Should You Buy?

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)’s share price was up 1.2% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $213.51 and last traded at $210.9540. Approximately 4,692,956 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 34% from the average daily volume of 7,071,493 shares. The stock had previously closed at $208.50.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ABBV shares. UBS Group dropped their price objective on AbbVie from $240.00 to $230.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $249.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price objective on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $253.10.

AbbVie Stock Up 1.2%

The firm has a market capitalization of $372.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 103.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.32. The business has a 50-day moving average of $211.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $220.29.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.06. AbbVie had a negative return on equity of 576.45% and a net margin of 5.79%.The business had revenue of $15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.72 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.46 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 14.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be paid a $1.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is currently 340.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AbbVie news, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 22,381 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total transaction of $5,147,630.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 38,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,771,510. The trade was a 36.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP David Ryan Purdue sold 5,230 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.56, for a total value of $1,221,518.80. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 2,654 shares in the company, valued at $619,868.24. The trade was a 66.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AbbVie

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust boosted its holdings in AbbVie by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust now owns 7,213 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,648,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Eclectic Associates Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in AbbVie by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Eclectic Associates Inc. ADV now owns 5,852 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,337,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in AbbVie by 56.3% during the fourth quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC now owns 125 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Weil Company Inc. boosted its holdings in AbbVie by 2.3% during the third quarter. Weil Company Inc. now owns 2,026 shares of the company’s stock valued at $469,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hardin Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in AbbVie by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Hardin Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,321 shares of the company’s stock valued at $759,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About AbbVie

AbbVie is a global, research-driven biopharmaceutical company that was created as a spin-off from Abbott Laboratories in 2013 and is headquartered in North Chicago, Illinois. The company focuses on discovering, developing and commercializing therapies for complex and often chronic medical conditions. Its operations span research and development, manufacturing, regulatory affairs and commercialization, with an emphasis on bringing specialty medicines to market across multiple therapeutic areas.

AbbVie’s product portfolio and pipeline cover several major therapeutic categories, including immunology, oncology, neuroscience, virology and women’s health.