AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Sets New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $207.42 and last traded at $206.56, with a volume of 385453 shares. The stock had previously closed at $205.02.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABBV has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Daiwa America downgraded shares of AbbVie from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $191.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $211.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded shares of AbbVie from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on AbbVie from $212.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Five 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.35.

AbbVie Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $183.75 and a 200-day moving average of $186.85. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $369.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 87.11, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.58.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.98 by ($0.82). AbbVie had a net margin of 7.59% and a return on equity of 296.28%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.79 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.14%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is 273.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total value of $1,143,466.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,381 shares in the company, valued at $4,429,199.90. This trade represents a 20.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 1,800 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.24, for a total value of $310,032.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,202,751.92. The trade was a 20.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AbbVie

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. GGM Financials LLC grew its position in shares of AbbVie by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. GGM Financials LLC now owns 6,895 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,362,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Dillon & Associates Inc. grew its position in shares of AbbVie by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Dillon & Associates Inc. now owns 6,914 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,362,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of AbbVie by 30.4% during the 4th quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 223 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of AbbVie by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,110 shares of the company’s stock worth $553,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Finally, Peninsula Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of AbbVie by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Peninsula Wealth LLC now owns 1,360 shares of the company’s stock worth $242,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.