Abbott Laboratories $ABT Shares Sold by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP cut its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 8.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,179,722 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 363,930 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.24% of Abbott Laboratories worth $429,132,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Purpose Unlimited Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Portfolio Resources Advisor Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Abound Financial LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, Director Daniel J. Starks purchased 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $92.65 per share, for a total transaction of $926,500.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 6,751,103 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $625,489,692.95. The trade was a 0.15% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Philip P. Boudreau purchased 2,200 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $91.50 per share, with a total value of $201,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 2,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $201,300. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of NYSE ABT opened at $99.67 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $90.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $101.66. The company has a market capitalization of $173.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.61. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $81.97 and a 1 year high of $137.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $12.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.52 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 17.65% and a net margin of 11.65%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.26 EPS. Abbott Laboratories has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.380-1.46 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 5.450-5.60 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $118.00 target price (up from $115.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $144.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Finally, BTIG Research lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $131.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $118.61.

About Abbott Laboratories

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.