AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Erste Group Bank

Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Daiwa Capital Markets cut shares of AbbVie from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of AbbVie from $181.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on AbbVie from $211.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on AbbVie from $200.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.45.

AbbVie Stock Performance

Shares of ABBV stock opened at $212.21 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $193.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $188.48. AbbVie has a one year low of $153.58 and a one year high of $218.66. The stock has a market cap of $374.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 88.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 quarter last year, the company earned $2.79 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that AbbVie will post 12.31 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.09%. AbbVie’s payout ratio is 273.33%.

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In other AbbVie news, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.90, for a total value of $6,070,159.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,284 shares in the company, valued at $8,985,223.60. This trade represents a 40.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total value of $1,143,466.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,429,199.90. The trade was a 20.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 54,639 shares of company stock valued at $11,067,025 over the last ninety days. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AbbVie

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABBV. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of AbbVie by 30.4% in the fourth quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 223 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in 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. Peninsula Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of AbbVie by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Peninsula Wealth LLC now owns 1,360 shares of the company’s stock valued at $242,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Physicians Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of AbbVie by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Physicians Financial Services Inc. now owns 12,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,159,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, Connecticut Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of AbbVie by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,711 shares of the company’s stock worth $660,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. 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.