Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 147,428 Shares of AbbVie Inc. $ABBV

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group reduced its AbbVie stake by 5.2%, selling 147,428 shares and retaining 2.68 million shares valued at approximately $675.5 million. Institutional investors collectively own 70.23% of AbbVie.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish on ABBV, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $275.95; several firms recently raised targets to as high as $300.
• AbbVie reported quarterly EPS and revenue above expectations, with revenue up 10.2% year over year, and issued third-quarter EPS guidance of $3.84–$3.88. The company also maintains a quarterly dividend of $1.73 per share, equivalent to a 2.6% yield.

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,684,208 shares of the company's stock after selling 147,428 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.15% of AbbVie worth $675,454,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ABBV. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of AbbVie by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 180,779,699 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,306,353,000 after acquiring an additional 3,032,438 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of AbbVie by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 80,940,931 shares of the company's stock worth $18,494,193,000 after purchasing an additional 1,119,274 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of AbbVie by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 44,629,980 shares of the company's stock worth $10,179,099,000 after purchasing an additional 4,190,487 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in AbbVie by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 25,824,399 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,900,617,000 after purchasing an additional 356,394 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in AbbVie during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,865,055,000. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on ABBV shares. Wolfe Research raised shares of AbbVie from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $300.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. HSBC restated a "buy" rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of AbbVie from a "hold (c)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of AbbVie from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on AbbVie from $258.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AbbVie currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $275.95.

Trending Headlines about AbbVie

Here are the key news stories impacting AbbVie this week:

• Positive Sentiment: New lung-cancer data supports AbbVie’s long-term growth strategy. At the 2026 World Conference on Lung Cancer, AbbVie presented clinical, translational and real-world data for investigational programs including ABBV-1480, telisotuzumab adizutecan and ABBV-706 across non-small cell and small cell lung cancer. The updates highlight potential future oncology revenue sources beyond the company’s established immunology portfolio. AbbVie WCLC 2026 announcement
• Positive Sentiment: AbbVie is broadening its aesthetics pipeline. The company has initiated a Phase 2 study evaluating a treatment for forehead lines, adding another potential product to its aesthetics franchise and reinforcing efforts to diversify growth. AbbVie aesthetics pipeline update
• Neutral Sentiment: AbbVie’s relatively low market correlation reflects its defensive pharmaceutical revenue base. Investor performance is driven more by product demand, reimbursement and payer dynamics than by broad equity-market movements. This may help explain the stock’s resilience, but the article does not identify a new earnings catalyst. What Moves AbbVie Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: AbbVie recently reported quarterly EPS and revenue above consensus, with revenue rising 10.2% year over year, and guided to third-quarter EPS of $3.84–$3.88. Analysts’ average price target of $275.73 remains above the current trading level, although the stock’s elevated valuation raises expectations. AbbVie stock and earnings information
• Negative Sentiment: An early end to a long-term emraclidine schizophrenia study introduces uncertainty. Investors may question the implications for AbbVie’s neuroscience pipeline and the program’s development prospects until the company provides additional details. AbbVie emraclidine study update
• Negative Sentiment: An executive vice president sold approximately $8.18 million of ABBV shares, reducing his position by about 30.5%. The sale may weigh modestly on sentiment, although insider transactions can reflect personal financial planning rather than a change in business outlook. AbbVie insider sale

AbbVie Price Performance

Shares of ABBV opened at $265.62 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $469.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 75.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.30. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $248.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $227.50. AbbVie Inc. has a 1 year low of $190.75 and a 1 year high of $267.47.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The company reported $3.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $16.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.80 billion. AbbVie had a net margin of 9.80% and a negative return on equity of 422.07%. The business's revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.97 earnings per share. AbbVie has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.840-3.880 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 14.06 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 15th were issued a dividend of $1.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 15th. This represents a $6.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 195.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 32,710 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $8,177,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 74,430 shares in the company, valued at $18,607,500. This trade represents a 30.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About AbbVie

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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