AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) is included among the 11 Defensive Healthcare Dividend Stocks to Buy Now.
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A global pharmaceutical company, AbbVie Inc. is among the best dividend stocks in the healthcare sector.
On October 14, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed its Overweight rating and $250 price target for AbbVie Inc. while revising its earnings model to include the tax effects of a planned In-Process Research and Development (IPR&D) charge. The research firm lowered its Q3 2025 EPS estimate from $2.06 to $1.82, compared with AbbVie’s guidance range of $1.74 to $1.78, to factor in the $1.50 per share after-tax impact of the charge.
Cantor also raised its expected tax rate for the quarter to around 25%, up from about 16%, explaining that its earlier projections had incorrectly assumed partial tax shielding on the expense. According to the firm, the $2.68 billion IPR&D charge AbbVie Inc. has outlined is not tax deductible, bringing the company’s Q3 tax rate roughly in line with previous quarters.
Aside from the tax-related revisions, Cantor left the rest of its forecasts unchanged, including all other operating assumptions.
AbbVie Inc. remains recognized as a reliable dividend payer, having achieved 53 consecutive years of dividend growth. The company’s quarterly dividend comes in at $1.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.86%, as of October 14.
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