AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-seven analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $211.29.

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $194.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. BNP Paribas upgraded AbbVie to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $204.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of AbbVie from $214.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut AbbVie from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd.

Institutional Trading of AbbVie

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ABBV. Crestline Management LP boosted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 438.4% during the 4th quarter. Crestline Management LP now owns 35,311 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,275,000 after purchasing an additional 28,753 shares during the last quarter. Narus Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in AbbVie by 25.3% in the first quarter. Narus Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,988 shares of the company’s stock valued at $417,000 after purchasing an additional 401 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of AbbVie by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,367,162 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,664,489,000 after buying an additional 108,993 shares during the last quarter. AXA S.A. lifted its position in shares of AbbVie by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 971,893 shares of the company’s stock worth $172,705,000 after purchasing an additional 125,568 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Highland Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 46,853 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,817,000 after acquiring an additional 2,792 shares during the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AbbVie Price Performance

NYSE:ABBV opened at $189.67 on Thursday. AbbVie has a 1-year low of $163.81 and a 1-year high of $218.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market cap of $335.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $187.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $189.95.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be given a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.46%. AbbVie’s payout ratio is currently 279.15%.

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.