Soros Capital Management LLC Buys New Position in Abbott Laboratories $ABT

Key Points

• Soros Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories, purchasing 4,064 shares valued at approximately $539,000 in the first quarter.
• Abbott Laboratories reported earnings of $1.26 per share for the last quarter, surpassing analyst estimates, with revenue increasing by 7.4% year-over-year.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.59 per share, representing an annual yield of 1.8%.

Soros Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 4,064 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock, valued at approximately $539,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kelly Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter worth about $216,000. Voleon Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth approximately $273,000. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 152,719 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $17,274,000 after buying an additional 2,774 shares in the last quarter. Edge Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 3.3% during the first quarter. Edge Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,530 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $336,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,865,656 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $1,451,032,000 after acquiring an additional 781,264 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $131.47. 4,674,515 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,499,934. The stock has a market capitalization of $228.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.70. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $110.86 and a twelve month high of $141.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $131.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $131.33.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.26. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 32.43% and a return on equity of 18.32%. The business had revenue of $11.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.14 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Abbott Laboratories has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.100-5.200 EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at 1.280-1.320 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th were paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is currently 29.57%.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, CFO Philip P. Boudreau sold 5,550 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 51,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,862,453.65. This represents a 9.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Abbott Laboratories from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $143.00 to $145.00 in a report on Friday, July 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $147.00 to $142.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $144.47.

About Abbott Laboratories

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.