AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 17,000,000 shares, a drop of 8.3% from the December 15th total of 18,530,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 6,190,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.7 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at AbbVie

In other news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 1,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.24, for a total value of $310,032.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,202,751.92. The trade was a 20.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AbbVie

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Groupama Asset Managment increased its holdings in AbbVie by 40.3% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 135,749 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 38,974 shares during the last quarter. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie during the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Quest Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of AbbVie by 4,140.0% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 212 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marquette Asset Management LLC bought a new position in AbbVie during the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Stock Performance

AbbVie stock traded down $2.21 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $171.49. The stock had a trading volume of 7,581,211 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,943,678. AbbVie has a 52-week low of $153.58 and a 52-week high of $207.32. The company has a market capitalization of $303.05 billion, a PE ratio of 59.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.58. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $175.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $184.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $3.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $14.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.95 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that AbbVie will post 10.06 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be paid a $1.64 dividend. This is a positive change from AbbVie’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.83%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is 215.28%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on ABBV. Citigroup cut their target price on AbbVie from $226.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of AbbVie from $231.00 to $224.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of AbbVie in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $203.00 price target on the stock. Daiwa America lowered shares of AbbVie from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on AbbVie from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.50.

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.