Franklin Resources Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Abbott Laboratories $ABT

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 8.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,155,088 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 851,767 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.64% of Abbott Laboratories worth $1,397,620,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Bridge Generations Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Philip P. Boudreau acquired 2,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $91.50 per share, for a total transaction of $201,300.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 2,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $201,300. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Daniel J. Starks acquired 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $92.65 per share, for a total transaction of $926,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,751,103 shares in the company, valued at approximately $625,489,692.95. This represents a 0.15% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

NYSE ABT opened at $91.20 on Monday. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $81.97 and a 12 month high of $139.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $158.85 billion, a PE ratio of 25.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.63. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $92.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $109.16.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $11.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.99 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.90% and a return on equity of 17.62%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.09 earnings per share. Abbott Laboratories has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.380-5.580 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 1.250-1.310 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 20th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Leerink Partners reduced their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $106.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $115.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $115.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $119.09.

Abbott Laboratories Company Profile

Abbott Laboratories is a global healthcare company headquartered in Abbott Park, Illinois, that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of medical products and services. Founded in 1888, Abbott operates through multiple business areas that focus on diagnostics, medical devices, nutritionals and established pharmaceuticals. The company supplies hospitals, clinics, laboratories, retailers and direct-to-consumer channels with products intended to diagnose, treat and manage a wide range of health conditions.

In diagnostics, Abbott provides laboratory and point-of-care testing platforms and assays used to detect infectious diseases, chronic conditions and biomarkers; its Alinity family of instruments and rapid-test solutions are examples of this capability.