Scientech Research LLC Acquires Shares of 7,737 Abbott Laboratories $ABT

Key Points

• Scientech Research LLC acquired 7,737 shares of Abbott Laboratories valued at approximately $1,026,000 in the first quarter, as reported in their recent SEC filing.
• Several large investors increased their holdings in Abbott Laboratories, with hedge funds and institutional investors owning around 75.18% of the stock.
• Analysts have given Abbott Laboratories a Moderate Buy average rating, with a consensus target price of $144.47, following a series of price objective adjustments by various research firms.

Scientech Research LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 7,737 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock, valued at approximately $1,026,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Kelly Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter valued at approximately $216,000. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 152,719 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $17,274,000 after purchasing an additional 2,774 shares in the last quarter. Edge Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Edge Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,530 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $336,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at $84,418,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 49.8% in the 1st quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 1,507,268 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $199,939,000 after buying an additional 501,200 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price target 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. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Leerink Partners started coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, June 16th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $143.00 price objective on the stock. 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 note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $144.47.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 1.9%

ABT stock traded down $2.56 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $129.39. 7,392,932 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,688,948. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $110.86 and a 52-week high of $141.23. The business's 50 day moving average price is $130.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $131.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.82 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $225.20 billion, a PE ratio of 16.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.69.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.26. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 18.32% and a net margin of 32.43%.The company had revenue of $11.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.14 earnings per share. The company's 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. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

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

Abbott Laboratories 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.