AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Hits New 12-Month High on Strong Earnings

by · The Markets Daily

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV – Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $205.35 and last traded at $205.13, with a volume of 43616 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $201.50.

The company reported $3.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.92 by $0.08. AbbVie had a return on equity of 203.66% and a net margin of 9.71%. The firm had revenue of $14.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.95 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year.

AbbVie Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be given a dividend of $1.64 per share. This is an increase from AbbVie’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.19%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 183.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on ABBV. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Monday, August 5th. William Blair upgraded AbbVie to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 30th. UBS Group lifted their target price on AbbVie from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on AbbVie from $195.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on AbbVie from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $200.11.

Get Our Latest Report on AbbVie

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 66,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.52, for a total transaction of $12,403,580.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 446,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $83,299,645.48. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of AbbVie

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ABBV. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in AbbVie during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new stake in AbbVie during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Quest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in AbbVie by 4,140.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 212 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in AbbVie during the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Burkett Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 61.2% in the 3rd quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AbbVie Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $362.78 billion, a PE ratio of 59.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $193.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $178.91.

About AbbVie

(Get Free Report)

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.

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