Nicholas Company Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories $ABT

Nicholas Company Inc. lessened its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 3.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 89,033 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 3,285 shares during the quarter. Nicholas Company Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $12,109,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 169,823,136 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $22,527,039,000 after acquiring an additional 1,177,739 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 12.8% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 29,763,415 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $3,948,117,000 after acquiring an additional 3,371,113 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 29.2% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 15,985,797 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $2,120,516,000 after acquiring an additional 3,616,471 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 12.8% during the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 14,451,305 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,916,966,000 after purchasing an additional 1,639,954 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,108,416 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,738,831,000 after purchasing an additional 168,095 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of ABT opened at $123.61 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $214.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.49, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.69. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $131.45 and a 200-day moving average of $131.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $110.86 and a 52 week high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.30. The company had revenue of $11.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.40 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 17.78% and a net margin of 31.88%.The business’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.21 EPS. Abbott Laboratories has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.120-5.180 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 15th will be given a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.57%.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, CFO Philip P. Boudreau sold 5,550 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.55, for a total value of $746,752.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 51,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,862,453.65. This trade represents a 9.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $147.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $153.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $146.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $127.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $147.00.

Abbott Laboratories Company Profile

Abbott Laboratories, together with its subsidiaries, discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells health care products worldwide. It operates in four segments: Established Pharmaceutical Products, Diagnostic Products, Nutritional Products, and Medical Devices. The company provides generic pharmaceuticals for the treatment of pancreatic exocrine insufficiency, irritable bowel syndrome or biliary spasm, intrahepatic cholestasis or depressive symptoms, gynecological disorder, hormone replacement therapy, dyslipidemia, hypertension, hypothyroidism, Ménière’s disease and vestibular vertigo, pain, fever, inflammation, and migraine, as well as provides anti-infective clarithromycin, influenza vaccine, and products to regulate physiological rhythm of the colon.