Brokers Set Expectations for AbbVie Inc.’s Q1 2024 Earnings (NYSE:ABBV)

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) – Leerink Partnrs lowered their Q1 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for AbbVie in a research report issued on Friday, April 5th. Leerink Partnrs analyst D. Risinger now expects that the company will post earnings per share of $2.22 for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $2.32. The consensus estimate for AbbVie’s current full-year earnings is $11.12 per share. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for AbbVie’s Q2 2024 earnings at $2.84 EPS.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on ABBV. William Blair raised AbbVie from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. HSBC cut AbbVie from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $167.00 to $156.00 in a report on Monday, December 18th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on AbbVie from $188.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Barclays raised their price objective on AbbVie from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on AbbVie from $187.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $177.43.

AbbVie Stock Performance

NYSE:ABBV opened at $170.13 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $301.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 62.32, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $176.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $159.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.02. AbbVie has a 1-year low of $130.96 and a 1-year high of $182.89.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The company reported $2.79 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.03. AbbVie had a net margin of 8.95% and a return on equity of 162.28%. The business had revenue of $14.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.60 EPS. AbbVie’s quarterly revenue was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Retirement Income Solutions Inc acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie in the 1st quarter valued at about $204,000. Ergoteles LLC lifted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 17.8% in the 1st quarter. Ergoteles LLC now owns 5,605 shares of the company’s stock valued at $909,000 after purchasing an additional 847 shares during the period. First Western Trust Bank acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,150,000. Wsfs Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie in the 1st quarter valued at about $562,000. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP lifted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 80.4% in the 1st quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 75,516 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,242,000 after purchasing an additional 33,661 shares during the period. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 52,870 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.71, for a total transaction of $9,184,047.70. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 243,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,375,512.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Jeffrey Ryan Stewart sold 58,949 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.79, for a total transaction of $10,539,491.71. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 60,941 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,895,641.39. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 52,870 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.71, for a total value of $9,184,047.70. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 243,944 shares in the company, valued at $42,375,512.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 383,324 shares of company stock worth $67,780,003. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a $1.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.64%. AbbVie’s payout ratio is 227.11%.

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.