AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.02 EPS

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday. The company reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.02, Bloomberg Earnings reports. AbbVie had a return on equity of 148.83% and a net margin of 24.07%. The business had revenue of $6.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.93 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.26 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. AbbVie updated its FY17 guidance to $5.44-5.54 EPS.

Shares of AbbVie (ABBV) traded down 1.80% on Friday, reaching $70.44. The company had a trading volume of 8,012,152 shares. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $71.99 and its 200 day moving average is $66.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $112.11 billion, a PE ratio of 18.26 and a beta of 1.51. AbbVie has a 12 month low of $55.06 and a 12 month high of $75.04.

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, July 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.64 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 12th. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.63%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.32%.

In other AbbVie news, CFO William J. Chase sold 38,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.35, for a total transaction of $2,502,905.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 209,043 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,660,960.05. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Carlos Alban sold 45,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $3,206,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 160,545 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,238,150. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 278,135 shares of company stock worth $18,841,085 in the last three months. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Hilltop Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of AbbVie by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 31,754 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,988,000 after buying an additional 2,315 shares during the last quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of AbbVie by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 840,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,626,000 after buying an additional 5,200 shares during the last quarter. Glenview Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter valued at about $570,905,000. Sarissa Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter valued at about $626,000. Finally, Freestone Capital Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of AbbVie by 30.9% in the fourth quarter. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC now owns 60,374 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,781,000 after buying an additional 14,240 shares during the last quarter. 68.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ABBV. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $63.00 price target on shares of AbbVie in a report on Tuesday, April 18th. BidaskClub downgraded AbbVie from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Vetr downgraded AbbVie from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $72.72 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, June 14th. Leerink Swann reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of AbbVie in a report on Thursday, June 22nd. Finally, Zacks Investment Research upgraded AbbVie from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 13th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.52.

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.