In the third quarter, Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI reduced its holding in AbbVie by 30.5%, selling 39,586 shares and ending the period with 90,102 shares valued at roughly $20.9 billion at cost. During the same period, Norges Bank initiated a new position of approximately $4.29 billion in AbbVie shares, while Vanguard Group increased its stake by 1.9% to 177.3 million shares. DZ BANK AG more than doubled its holding, adding 2.97 million shares to reach 4.72 million shares, and Raymond James Financial boosted its position by 41.8% to 9.34 million shares. Overall, institutional investors and hedge funds now own just over 70% of the outstanding shares, underscoring AbbVie’s appeal among large asset managers.

AbbVie reported third-quarter earnings per share of $1.86, exceeding consensus estimates by $0.09, and revenue of $15.78 billion, a 9.1% year-over-year increase and $200 million above analyst projections. The company achieved a net margin of 4.0% and an extraordinary return on equity of 3,216.5%. Leveraging these results, management set fourth-quarter EPS guidance at a range of $3.32 to $3.36, implying full-year earnings of approximately $12.31 per share—well ahead of prior consensus. The strength was driven by robust sales in immunology and oncology franchises, partly offset by price adjustments in mature categories.

AbbVie announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.73 per share, representing an annualized payout of $6.92 and lifting the yield to 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was January 16, with payment on February 17 to shareholders of record. This marks a 5.5% boost over the prior distribution and reflects a payout ratio of 524%. Research firms remain bullish overall: two analysts rate the shares as a Strong Buy, thirteen as Buy and eight as Hold. Consensus price targets average $248.11, with recent upgrades from Morgan Stanley (to $269) and BMO Capital Markets (outperform rating, $258 target) balancing neutral calls from UBS and Citigroup.