20,916 Shares in Abbott Laboratories $ABT Purchased by Hodges Capital Management Inc.

Key Points

• Hodges Capital Management acquired 20,916 Abbott shares worth approximately $1.9 million, while institutional investors collectively own 75.18% of the company.
• Abbott reported quarterly EPS of $1.31, exceeding estimates, and revenue of $12.59 billion, up 13% year over year. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $118.67.
• The company paid a quarterly dividend of $0.63 per share, equivalent to a 2.2% annualized yield, but agreed to a roughly $670 million settlement in a portion of litigation involving specialty infant formulas.

Hodges Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 20,916 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock, valued at approximately $1,898,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 175,556,716 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $21,995,501,000 after buying an additional 2,402,408 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 79,853,782 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $10,004,880,000 after buying an additional 1,627,791 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 63,229,445 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $7,922,519,000 after buying an additional 1,614,706 shares during the last quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 12,439.6% in the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 39,319,009 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $4,926,279,000 after acquiring an additional 39,005,451 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 39,169,239 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $4,907,523,000 after acquiring an additional 400,400 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Friday, July 17th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Abbott Laboratories from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $118.00 price objective (up from $115.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $118.67.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of NYSE:ABT opened at $116.62 on Friday. The company's fifty day moving average is $100.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $100.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.38. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $81.97 and a 1-year high of $137.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $201.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.59.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.03. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 11.65% and a return on equity of 17.69%. The business had revenue of $12.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.26 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. 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. Equities analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.52 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 15th were paid a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is presently 81.55%.

More Abbott Laboratories News

Here are the key news stories impacting Abbott Laboratories this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Abbott’s Instinct continuous glucose sensor is now commercially shipping in the U.S. integrated with MiniMed’s Flex automated insulin-delivery system. The partnership expands Abbott’s presence in diabetes technology and could support sensor adoption and recurring revenue. MiniMed Ships MiniMed Flex With Abbott's Smallest Instinct Sensor
• Positive Sentiment: Abbott also entered a multiyear agreement with HealthTab to distribute its Afinion 2 point-of-care analyzers through NHS-linked pharmacies in the United Kingdom. The deal may broaden access to Abbott’s HbA1c and lipid-testing products, although financial details were not disclosed. HealthTab Enters Multi-Year Collaboration Agreement with Abbott
• Neutral Sentiment: Abbott agreed to pay approximately $670 million to resolve the Gill case and claims from roughly 2,000 individuals involving specialty formulas for premature infants. The settlement resolves a portion of the litigation, including the appeal of a prior $495 million verdict, reducing uncertainty and potentially avoiding additional legal costs. Abbott denied that its products cause necrotizing enterocolitis and said regulators and medical professionals consider the formulas safe and necessary. Abbott agrees to $670 million settlement of infant formula cases
• Negative Sentiment: The settlement represents a significant cash and earnings cost and does not resolve all potential litigation related to the infant formulas. Investors may continue to assess the scope of remaining claims and the effect on Abbott’s legal reserves and profitability. Abbott reaches agreements to resolve a portion of litigation involving its specialty formulas

Abbott Laboratories 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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