AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Trading Down 0.2% – Here’s Why

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)’s share price was down 0.2% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $192.78 and last traded at $193.00. Approximately 3,974,116 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 38% from the average daily volume of 6,372,861 shares. The stock had previously closed at $193.45.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on ABBV. Citigroup lifted their price objective on AbbVie from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Leerink Partners upgraded AbbVie from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $206.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Daiwa Capital Markets cut shares of AbbVie from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $191.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of AbbVie from $212.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $208.35.

AbbVie Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $179.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $186.11. The stock has a market cap of $348.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 82.21, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.58.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced 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 return on equity of 257.91% and a net margin of 7.59%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.79 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.32%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is currently 273.33%.

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In related news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 1,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.24, for a total value of $310,032.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,202,751.92. This represents a 20.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of AbbVie

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the 3rd quarter valued at $8,777,000. Swedbank AB lifted its position in AbbVie by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,147,126 shares of the company’s stock valued at $424,014,000 after acquiring an additional 6,810 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Group LLC boosted its stake in AbbVie by 20.3% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 2,012 shares of the company’s stock worth $397,000 after acquiring an additional 339 shares in the last quarter. Evernest Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in AbbVie in the third quarter worth about $267,000. Finally, Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AbbVie during the third quarter valued at approximately $226,000. 70.23% of the stock is owned by 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.