97,462 Abbott Laboratories $ABT Shares Sold by ProShare Advisors LLC

Key Points

• ProShare Advisors reduced its Abbott Laboratories stake by 4.8%, selling 97,462 shares and retaining 1.92 million shares valued at approximately $189.5 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 75.18% of Abbott.
• Abbott reported quarterly revenue of $13.01 billion and adjusted earnings of $1.42 per share, both slightly ahead of expectations, with revenue up 14.5% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.63 per share, representing a 2.4% yield.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $118.32, although Argus downgraded the stock to “Hold.” Abbott’s outlook includes the pivotal Cephea mitral-valve trial, while heightened competition from Dexcom presents a risk to its FreeStyle Libre diabetes business.

ProShare Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 4.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,917,627 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 97,462 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC owned about 0.11% of Abbott Laboratories worth $189,519,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Foresight Capital Management Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Balance Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Summit Securities Group LLC increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 41.3% in the second quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 404 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Addison Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter worth approximately $40,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting Abbott Laboratories

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

• Positive Sentiment: Abbott began the pivotal CROWN-MV trial for its investigational Cephea Mitral Valve System, designed as a minimally invasive treatment for symptomatic mitral valve disease patients who are ineligible for surgery or transcatheter repair. Successful development could expand Abbott’s structural-heart portfolio, although the device remains investigational and carries clinical and regulatory risk. Abbott initiates pivotal trial for Cephea device
• Positive Sentiment: Industry reports forecast strong expansion in point-of-care diagnostics across South and Central America and continued growth in home INR monitoring. Abbott is listed among the key suppliers, suggesting potential long-term opportunities for its diagnostics business through testing volume, instruments and recurring consumables. South and Central America point-of-care diagnostics market Point-of-care INR testing market
• Neutral Sentiment: Discussion of Abbott’s approaching breakup highlights the potential for value creation through separating businesses, but also raises questions about execution, valuation and how costs and growth prospects will be allocated among the resulting companies. Can Abbott Laboratories Stay Reasonable As Its Breakup Nears?
• Negative Sentiment: Dexcom exceeded expectations and raised guidance, underscoring robust demand for continuous glucose-monitoring wearables but also intensifying competitive pressure on Abbott’s FreeStyle Libre franchise. Stronger execution by Dexcom could weigh on expectations for Abbott’s diabetes-care growth. Dexcom shakes off Abbott-tied malaise
• Negative Sentiment: Argus downgraded Abbott Laboratories, adding a near-term valuation and analyst-sentiment headwind. Abbott Laboratories stock gets downgrade from Argus

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ABT. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $112.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. BTIG Research dropped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $134.00 to $125.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded Abbott Laboratories from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $119.00 to $127.00 in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, Argus cut shares of Abbott Laboratories from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $118.32.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of ABT stock opened at $106.33 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $104.36 and a 200 day moving average of $102.06. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $81.97 and a 52 week high of $132.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $183.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.68, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.59.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The healthcare product maker reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.42. The business had revenue of $13.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.99 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 9.75% and a return on equity of 17.97%. The company's revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.30 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 15th will be given a dividend of $0.63 per share. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.03%.

Abbott Laboratories Profile

Abbott Laboratories is a global healthcare company that develops, manufactures and markets a broad range of medical products and services. Founded in 1888 by Wallace C. Abbott, the company is headquartered in Abbott Park, Illinois, and serves patients, healthcare providers and consumers in markets around the world.

Abbott operates across four principal businesses: medical devices, diagnostics, nutrition and established pharmaceutical products. Its offerings include glucose-monitoring systems such as FreeStyle Libre; cardiovascular devices, including stents and structural heart products; laboratory and point-of-care diagnostic systems; and branded generic medicines in areas such as gastroenterology, women's health and cardiometabolic care.

The company's nutrition portfolio includes infant and pediatric products such as Similac and PediaSure, adult nutritional products such as Ensure, and rehydration products such as Pedialyte.

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