AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Stock Price Down 0.9% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) traded down 0.9% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $211.59 and last traded at $211.99. 942,393 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 5,200,987 shares. The stock had previously closed at $213.85.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on ABBV shares. Daiwa America downgraded shares of AbbVie from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Guggenheim upped their target price on AbbVie from $212.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler raised their price target on AbbVie from $212.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on AbbVie from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $211.45.

AbbVie Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94. The company has a 50 day moving average of $193.80 and a 200-day moving average of $188.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $368.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 86.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its 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 net margin of 7.59% and a return on equity of 296.28%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.79 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 273.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of the company’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 transaction of $6,070,159.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,985,223.60. This represents a 40.32 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 18,944 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.41, for a total transaction of $3,853,399.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,496 shares in the company, valued at $2,338,401.36. This trade represents a 62.23 % 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 90 days. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AbbVie

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in AbbVie in the fourth quarter valued at about $4,459,385,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,190,951,000. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 32.8% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,097,375 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,215,903,000 after purchasing an additional 4,466,971 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in AbbVie by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 27,436,133 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,875,401,000 after purchasing an additional 3,599,336 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in AbbVie by 24.3% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 17,246,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,064,773,000 after purchasing an additional 3,373,156 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

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.