AbbVie Inc. $ABBV Shares Sold by Arizona State Retirement System

Key Points

• Arizona State Retirement System trimmed its AbbVie stake by 3.8% in Q4, selling 19,457 shares and leaving 496,417 shares worth roughly $113.4 million (AbbVie is its 19th-largest holding).
• Regulatory setback: The U.S. FDA declined to approve AbbVie's TrenibotulinumtoxinE (TrenibotE) and issued a Complete Response Letter citing manufacturing/CMC issues, delaying cosmetic-market revenue and creating remediation risk and potential costs.
• Financials & payout: AbbVie beat recent quarterly EPS ($2.71 vs. $2.65) and revenue, set FY2026 guidance of $14.37–$14.57 EPS, and pays a $1.73 quarterly dividend (3.4% yield) despite a high reported payout ratio (~293%).

Arizona State Retirement System trimmed its position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 496,417 shares of the company's stock after selling 19,457 shares during the quarter. AbbVie accounts for approximately 0.6% of Arizona State Retirement System's portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Arizona State Retirement System's holdings in AbbVie were worth $113,426,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Chelsea Counsel Co. acquired a new position in AbbVie during the third quarter worth $26,000. Westend Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Texas Capital Bancshares Inc TX acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. WestEnd Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of AbbVie by 160.4% during the 4th quarter. WestEnd Advisors LLC now owns 138 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, Caitlin John LLC purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.23% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on ABBV. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price target on AbbVie from $250.00 to $240.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded AbbVie from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 11th. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of AbbVie in a report on Monday, March 9th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on AbbVie in a report on Thursday, February 19th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $275.00 target price on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AbbVie presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $253.19.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 22,381 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total value of $5,147,630.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 38,137 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,771,510. This represents a 36.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP David Ryan Purdue sold 5,230 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.56, for a total value of $1,221,518.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 2,654 shares of the company's stock, valued at $619,868.24. The trade was a 66.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

AbbVie Price Performance

NYSE:ABBV opened at $200.97 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $217.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $222.62. The firm has a market cap of $355.34 billion, a PE ratio of 85.15, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.38. AbbVie Inc. has a 1-year low of $176.11 and a 1-year high of $244.81.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $16.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.39 billion. AbbVie had a net margin of 6.91% and a negative return on equity of 1,579.75%. AbbVie's revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.16 earnings per share. AbbVie has set its FY 2026 guidance at 14.370-14.570 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 2.970-3.010 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 14.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.73 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 293.22%.

Key Stories Impacting AbbVie

Here are the key news stories impacting AbbVie this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AbbVie announced a $1.4 billion, 185‑acre advanced manufacturing campus in Durham, NC to produce immunology, neuroscience and oncology medicines; the investment is AbbVie’s largest single-site capital commitment and should support capacity, vertical integration and long‑term growth. AbbVie to build $1.4 billion manufacturing campus in North Carolina
• Positive Sentiment: Canaccord initiated coverage with a strong‑buy/Buy stance and a $262 price target, adding an analyst catalyst and incremental buy-side attention that may support near-term buying interest. AbbVie (ABBV): The Best Stock to Buy on a Pullback
• Positive Sentiment: AbbVie inked an exclusive licensing agreement with Haisco Pharmaceutical Group for pain‑medicine development, extending its pipeline and potential future product/IP upside. AbbVie Inc. (ABBV) Inks Licensing Agreement for Pain Medicines Development
• Neutral Sentiment: AbbVie is set to report Q1 2026 earnings on April 29; consensus estimates (Zacks) call for revenue around $14.78B and EPS near $2.69 — the print and management commentary could be a short‑term volatility trigger. AbbVie Q1 Earnings Loom: Buy or Sell the Stock Ahead of Results?
• Neutral Sentiment: Media and investor pieces highlighting AbbVie as a “buy on a pullback” or attractive dividend/biotech play add background interest but are not immediate catalysts without fresh fundamentals or trial readouts. AbbVie (ABBV): The Best Stock to Buy on a Pullback (InsiderMonkey)
• Negative Sentiment: The U.S. FDA has declined to approve AbbVie’s trenibotulinumtoxinE (TrenibotE) wrinkle treatment, citing manufacturing issues — that regulatory setback delays potential cosmetic-market revenue and introduces execution risk around manufacturing remediation. US FDA declines to approve AbbVie's wrinkle treatment (Reuters)
• Negative Sentiment: AbbVie confirmed receipt of a Complete Response Letter (CRL) from the FDA for the TrenibotE BLA related to manufacturing processes; while the agency did not request new clinical studies, fixing CMC (chemistry, manufacturing, controls) issues can be time‑consuming and costly. AbbVie Provides Update on TrenibotulinumtoxinE (TrenibotE) Biologics License Application in the U.S.

AbbVie Profile

AbbVie is a global, research-driven biopharmaceutical company that was created as a spin-off from Abbott Laboratories in 2013 and is headquartered in North Chicago, Illinois. The company focuses on discovering, developing and commercializing therapies for complex and often chronic medical conditions. Its operations span research and development, manufacturing, regulatory affairs and commercialization, with an emphasis on bringing specialty medicines to market across multiple therapeutic areas.

AbbVie's product portfolio and pipeline cover several major therapeutic categories, including immunology, oncology, neuroscience, virology and women's health.

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