AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV – Get Rating) saw unusually large options trading on Friday. Stock investors bought 43,917 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 73% compared to the average volume of 25,410 call options.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other news, Director Roxanne S. Austin sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.50, for a total value of $1,505,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 40,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,126,102.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other AbbVie news, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 3,520 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $563,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,660,320. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Roxanne S. Austin sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.50, for a total value of $1,505,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 40,705 shares in the company, valued at $6,126,102.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 178,268 shares of company stock worth $27,231,420. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On AbbVie
A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABBV. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in AbbVie by 89,097.0% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 29,203,106 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,719,514,000 after buying an additional 29,170,366 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,033,348,000. Edmp Inc. raised its stake in shares of AbbVie by 15,607.4% in the 4th quarter. Edmp Inc. now owns 5,249,578 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,483,000 after purchasing an additional 5,216,157 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of AbbVie by 17.9% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 31,571,750 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,102,311,000 after purchasing an additional 4,785,277 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of AbbVie by 426.5% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 4,652,122 shares of the company’s stock valued at $754,155,000 after purchasing an additional 3,768,579 shares in the last quarter. 67.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
AbbVie Stock Up 0.5 %
AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 9th. The company reported $3.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.54 by $0.06. AbbVie had a net margin of 20.39% and a return on equity of 154.52%. The company had revenue of $15.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.30 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.31 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that AbbVie will post 10.98 EPS for the current year.
AbbVie Announces Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, April 14th will be given a dividend of $1.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 13th. This represents a $5.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.66%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 89.56%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ABBV. Atlantic Securities decreased their target price on AbbVie from $157.00 to $154.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 10th. SVB Securities raised AbbVie from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $135.00 to $153.00 in a research report on Friday, February 10th. Guggenheim began coverage on AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, February 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $172.00 target price for the company. Wolfe Research lowered AbbVie from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 22nd. They noted that the move was a valuation call. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on AbbVie from $182.00 to $178.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 10th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $161.12.
About AbbVie
AbbVie, Inc is a research-based biopharmaceutical company, which engages in the development and sale of pharmaceutical products. It focuses on treating conditions such as chronic autoimmune diseases in rheumatology, gastroenterology, and dermatology, oncology, including blood cancers, virology, hepatitis C virus (HCV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), neurological disorders, such as Parkinson’s, metabolic, comprising thyroid disease and complications associated with cystic fibrosis, pain associated with endometriosis, and other serious health conditions.
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