AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Shares Down 1.7% – Here’s Why

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)’s share price dropped 1.7% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $165.61 and last traded at $166.73. Approximately 3,236,599 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 40% from the average daily volume of 5,433,626 shares. The stock had previously closed at $169.63.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on ABBV. Truist Financial upped their price target on AbbVie from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $203.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $196.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Guggenheim lifted their target price on AbbVie from $212.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on AbbVie from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $203.89.

AbbVie Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $291.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a 50 day moving average of $192.04 and a 200-day moving average of $180.78.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $3.00 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.92 by $0.08. AbbVie had a net margin of 9.22% and a return on equity of 244.01%. The business had revenue of $14.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.95 earnings per share. AbbVie’s revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.95 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be paid a $1.64 dividend. This is a boost from AbbVie’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.98%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. AbbVie’s payout ratio is 227.78%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AbbVie

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABBV. GGM Financials LLC lifted its position in AbbVie by 0.7% during the third quarter. GGM Financials LLC now owns 6,895 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,362,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc lifted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc now owns 18,102 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,575,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. Dillon & Associates Inc. boosted 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 acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Frisch Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in AbbVie by 0.8% in the second quarter. Frisch Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,187,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Citizens Financial Corp lifted its stake in AbbVie by 0.9% during the third quarter. First Citizens Financial Corp now owns 5,777 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,141,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.