Abbott Laboratories $ABT is Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc.'s 3rd Largest Position

Key Points

• Diamond Hill Capital Management trimmed its Abbott Laboratories stake by 7.7% in the fourth quarter, but Abbott remains its 3rd largest holding at about $647.7 million.
• Abbott’s latest quarter topped expectations, with EPS of $1.15 and revenue of $11.16 billion, both slightly ahead of analyst estimates and up 7.8% year over year.
• Despite recent analyst price-target cuts, Wall Street still broadly likes the stock: Abbott carries a Moderate Buy consensus with an average target price of $119.43.

Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 7.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,169,513 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 434,070 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories comprises approximately 3.3% of Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.30% of Abbott Laboratories worth $647,688,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Freemont Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 197.2% in the 4th quarter. Freemont Management S.A. now owns 10,700 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $1,341,000 after purchasing an additional 7,100 shares in the last quarter. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth $116,580,000. Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter worth $185,640,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 24.3% in the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 246,586 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $30,931,000 after purchasing an additional 48,286 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AE Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 20.8% in the 3rd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 65,504 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $8,774,000 after purchasing an additional 11,264 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 0.7%

ABT opened at $87.72 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $97.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $112.22. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $81.97 and a 52 week high of $139.06. The company has a market capitalization of $152.79 billion, a PE ratio of 24.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.01. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.90% and a return on equity of 17.62%. The business had revenue of $11.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.09 EPS. The business's revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Abbott Laboratories has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.380-5.580 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 1.250-1.310 EPS. Analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Mary K. Moreland sold 613 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.58, for a total transaction of $70,850.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 104,291 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,053,953.78. This represents a 0.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 885 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.58, for a total transaction of $102,288.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 146,377 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,918,253.66. The trade was a 0.60% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 3,055 shares of company stock worth $353,097. Insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on ABT shares. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $115.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Argus reduced their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $121.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $122.00 to $109.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Evercore cut their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $134.00 to $120.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $119.43.

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.

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