AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Buy

StockNews.com downgraded shares of AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler upped their price target on AbbVie from $212.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on AbbVie from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 target price (up previously from $218.00) on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of AbbVie from $212.00 to $214.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $210.71.

AbbVie Stock Performance

Shares of AbbVie stock traded down $8.61 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $171.23. 6,168,393 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,888,449. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94. The business has a 50-day moving average of $200.79 and a 200-day moving average of $188.74. AbbVie has a 1 year low of $153.58 and a 1 year high of $218.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $302.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 71.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.55.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share (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 in the previous year, the firm earned $2.79 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that AbbVie will post 12.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 3.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is currently 273.33%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.90, for a total transaction of $6,070,159.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,284 shares in the company, valued at $8,985,223.60. This trade represents a 40.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total transaction of $1,143,466.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,429,199.90. The trade was a 20.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 113,471 shares of company stock worth $23,426,451. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AbbVie

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 40.3% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 135,749 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 38,974 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. EnRich Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 196.4% in the 4th quarter. EnRich Financial Partners LLC now owns 166 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in AbbVie in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

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.