AbbVie’s (ABBV) “Neutral” Rating Reaffirmed at Credit Suisse Group

Credit Suisse Group restated their neutral rating on shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) in a report released on Thursday morning. Credit Suisse Group currently has a $74.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $65.00.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Jefferies Group LLC reaffirmed a buy rating on shares of AbbVie in a report on Friday, May 26th. Vetr downgraded shares of AbbVie from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating and set a $71.84 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, May 15th. Societe Generale raised shares of AbbVie from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Thursday, June 22nd. Deutsche Bank AG upped their price target on shares of AbbVie from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Friday, April 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $63.00 price target on shares of AbbVie and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Thursday, April 27th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The company has an average rating of Buy and a consensus price target of $74.52.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) traded up 0.84% during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $74.63. 4,961,484 shares of the stock traded hands. The firm has a market cap of $118.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.34 and a beta of 1.51. AbbVie has a 52 week low of $55.06 and a 52 week high of $75.04. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $71.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $65.76.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 27th. The company reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.02. AbbVie had a net margin of 24.07% and a return on equity of 148.83%. The company had revenue of $6.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.15 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that AbbVie will post $5.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 14th will be given a $0.64 dividend. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 12th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.32%.

In other AbbVie news, CFO William J. Chase sold 38,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.35, for a total value of $2,502,905.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 209,043 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,660,960.05. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Carlos Alban sold 43,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.00, for a total transaction of $2,881,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 114,745 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,687,915. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 278,135 shares of company stock valued at $18,841,085. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Abner Herrman & Brock LLC boosted its position in shares of AbbVie by 0.3% in the second quarter. Abner Herrman & Brock LLC now owns 6,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $456,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Bollard Group LLC boosted its position in shares of AbbVie by 0.5% in the second quarter. Bollard Group LLC now owns 3,764 shares of the company’s stock valued at $273,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors boosted its position in shares of AbbVie by 0.5% in the first quarter. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors now owns 4,787 shares of the company’s stock valued at $313,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. St. Louis Trust Co boosted its position in shares of AbbVie by 0.7% in the first quarter. St. Louis Trust Co now owns 3,388 shares of the company’s stock valued at $221,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Country Club Trust Company n.a. boosted its position in shares of AbbVie by 0.6% in the first quarter. Country Club Trust Company n.a. now owns 4,434 shares of the company’s stock valued at $289,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.04% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Company Profile

AbbVie Inc (AbbVie) is a research-based biopharmaceutical company. The Company is engaged in the discovery, development, manufacture and sale of a range of pharmaceutical products. Its products are focused on treating conditions, such as chronic autoimmune diseases in rheumatology, gastroenterology and dermatology; oncology, including blood cancers; virology, including hepatitis C virus (HCV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV); neurological disorders, such as Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis; metabolic diseases, including thyroid disease and complications associated with cystic fibrosis, and other serious health conditions.