Abbott Laboratories $ABT Shares Bought by Capital International Investors

Key Points

• Capital International Investors increased its Abbott Laboratories stake by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, buying 1.61 million more shares and bringing its total holding to 63.2 million shares worth about $7.9 billion.
• Abbott reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.15 and revenue of $11.16 billion, both slightly ahead of analyst estimates. Revenue rose 7.8% year over year.
• Several analysts trimmed price targets on ABT, but the stock still carries a Moderate Buy consensus rating with an average target of $119.09. The shares were recently trading around $91.20, well below that target.

Capital International Investors increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 63,229,445 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after buying an additional 1,614,706 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories comprises 1.2% of Capital International Investors' portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Capital International Investors owned about 3.64% of Abbott Laboratories worth $7,922,519,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Bridge Generations Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on ABT shares. Argus reduced their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $122.00 to $109.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 17th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $131.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $150.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $144.00 to $143.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $119.09.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE ABT opened at $91.20 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $81.97 and a 1-year high of $139.06. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $92.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $109.31. The company has a market capitalization of $158.85 billion, a PE ratio of 25.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.63.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $11.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.99 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 17.62% and a net margin of 13.90%.The firm's revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.09 earnings per share. 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. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Philip P. Boudreau acquired 2,200 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $91.50 per share, for a total transaction of $201,300.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 2,200 shares of the company's stock, valued at $201,300. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Daniel J. Starks acquired 10,000 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $92.65 per share, with a total value of $926,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 6,751,103 shares of the company's stock, valued at $625,489,692.95. The trade was a 0.15% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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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