AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $205.19, but opened at $210.30. AbbVie shares last traded at $205.65, with a volume of 960,803 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABBV has been the subject of several research reports. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $200.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $181.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler Companies reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 target price (up previously from $218.00) on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price target on AbbVie from $212.00 to $214.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AbbVie currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $211.45.

AbbVie Stock Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $199.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $189.22. 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 $360.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 84.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 in the prior year, the business earned $2.79 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is presently 273.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Jeffrey Ryan Stewart sold 58,832 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.08, for a total transaction of $12,359,426.56. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 53,234 shares in the company, valued at $11,183,398.72. This trade represents a 52.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 18,944 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.41, for a total transaction of $3,853,399.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,496 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,338,401.36. This represents a 62.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 113,471 shares of company stock worth $23,426,451 over the last quarter. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA raised its position in shares of AbbVie by 5.3% during the first quarter. Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA now owns 10,870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,277,000 after buying an additional 549 shares during the last quarter. Marotta Asset Management increased its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 4.2% in the first quarter. Marotta Asset Management now owns 1,780 shares of the company’s stock worth $352,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co of the South lifted its position in shares of AbbVie by 2.6% in the first quarter. Trust Co of the South now owns 5,676 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,189,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Modus Advisors LLC boosted its stake in AbbVie by 0.5% during the first quarter. Modus Advisors LLC now owns 24,651 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,165,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M1 Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in AbbVie during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $229,000. 70.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AbbVie Company Profile

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.