Abbott Laboratories $ABT Shares Bought by VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al

Key Points

• VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al increased its Abbott Laboratories stake by 9.4% in the fourth quarter, buying 77,500 additional shares and bringing its total to 903,768 shares worth about $113.2 million.
• Abbott’s latest quarter topped expectations, posting $1.15 EPS on $11.16 billion in revenue, both slightly ahead of analyst forecasts. The company also raised guidance for FY 2026 and Q2 2026.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.63 per share, equal to an annualized payout of $2.52 and a yield of about 3.0%. Meanwhile, several analysts trimmed price targets, though consensus remains a “Moderate Buy.”

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 9.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 903,768 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after buying an additional 77,500 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories comprises about 0.7% of VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al's portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al owned approximately 0.05% of Abbott Laboratories worth $113,233,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Guerra Advisors Inc purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Bridge Generations Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Copia Wealth Management purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 885 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.58, for a total transaction of $102,288.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 146,377 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,918,253.66. This represents a 0.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mary K. Moreland sold 613 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.58, for a total transaction of $70,850.54. Following 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 3,055 shares of company stock worth $353,097 over the last 90 days. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 2.1%

ABT opened at $84.34 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $146.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.65. The business has a 50-day moving average of $100.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $114.15. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $81.97 and a 12 month high of $139.06.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 17.62% and a net margin of 13.90%.The company had revenue of $11.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.09 EPS. The firm'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. On average, research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be issued a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is currently 70.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on ABT shares. Barclays lowered their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $123.00 to $110.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 17th. Leerink Partners dropped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $106.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $115.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group lowered shares of Abbott Laboratories from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $92.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $119.43.

About Abbott Laboratories

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.