AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Shares Down 1.1% – Time to Sell?

Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) were down 1.1% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $233.71 and last traded at $234.07. Approximately 6,538,863 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 1% from the average daily volume of 6,498,326 shares. The stock had previously closed at $236.56.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on ABBV shares. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $216.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $231.00 price objective on the stock. Daiwa America raised shares of AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. UBS Group set a $251.00 price target on shares of AbbVie in a report on Friday. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of AbbVie from $207.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $228.22.

AbbVie Stock Down 1.1%

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $210.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $195.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14. The stock has a market cap of $413.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 111.46, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.51.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.24 by ($0.27). AbbVie had a return on equity of 699.66% and a net margin of 6.45%.The business had revenue of $15.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.65 EPS. AbbVie’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 15th will be paid a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is 312.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AbbVie news, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.51, for a total transaction of $2,639,190.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 58,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,562,611.97. This trade represents a 18.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 42,370 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.42, for a total transaction of $8,407,055.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 177,292 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,178,278.64. The trade was a 19.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AbbVie

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABBV. Marshall & Sullivan Inc. WA bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. TD Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of AbbVie by 82.9% during the first quarter. TD Capital Management LLC now owns 128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Abound Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

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.