Zacks Research Brokers Boost Earnings Estimates for AbbVie

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research upped their Q1 2026 earnings per share estimates for AbbVie in a research note issued on Thursday, March 13th. Zacks Research analyst S. Ganoria now anticipates that the company will post earnings per share of $2.88 for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $2.87. The consensus estimate for AbbVie’s current full-year earnings is $12.31 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for AbbVie’s Q2 2026 earnings at $3.33 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $3.63 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $3.80 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $13.64 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $14.89 EPS.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($0.82). AbbVie had a net margin of 7.59% and a return on equity of 296.28%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.79 EPS.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on ABBV. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 price target (up from $218.00) on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on AbbVie from $181.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on AbbVie from $212.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded AbbVie from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $211.45.

AbbVie Price Performance

NYSE ABBV opened at $214.45 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $378.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 89.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $191.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $188.18. AbbVie has a fifty-two week low of $153.58 and a fifty-two week high of $218.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AbbVie

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth about $4,459,385,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth about $1,190,951,000. FMR LLC lifted its position in AbbVie by 32.8% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,097,375 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,215,903,000 after buying an additional 4,466,971 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in AbbVie by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 27,436,133 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,875,401,000 after buying an additional 3,599,336 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in AbbVie by 24.3% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 17,246,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,064,773,000 after buying an additional 3,373,156 shares in the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 18,944 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.41, for a total value of $3,853,399.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,496 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,338,401.36. This represents a 62.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total transaction of $1,143,466.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,429,199.90. The trade was a 20.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 54,639 shares of company stock valued at $11,067,025 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 273.33%.

AbbVie Company Profile

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.