Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Abbott Laboratories $ABT

Key Points

• Gateway Investment Advisers LLC has reduced its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 9.3%, now holding 490,915 shares valued at approximately $66.77 million.
• Analysts are generally optimistic, with two analysts rating the stock as a Strong Buy and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" alongside an average price target of $144.47.
• Abbott Laboratories reported earnings of $1.26 per share for the last quarter, meeting expectations and showcasing 7.4% revenue growth compared to the same period last year.

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lowered its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 9.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 490,915 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 50,324 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories makes up 0.7% of Gateway Investment Advisers LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $66,769,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ABT. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Elequin Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Wormser Freres Gestion purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Philip P. Boudreau sold 5,550 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.55, for a total transaction of $746,752.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 51,003 shares in the company, valued at $6,862,453.65. The trade was a 9.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of ABT stock traded up $1.65 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $136.22. The stock had a trading volume of 11,531,874 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,669,153. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $130.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $131.20. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $110.86 and a 52-week high of $141.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $237.09 billion, a PE ratio of 17.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 32.43% and a return on equity of 18.32%. The firm had revenue of $11.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.14 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter 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. Equities analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 15th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is currently 29.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on ABT shares. BTIG Research cut their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $148.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 18th. Raymond James Financial cut their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $142.00 to $141.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $147.00 to $142.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 18th. Leerink Partners began coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, June 16th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $143.00 price target for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Abbott Laboratories from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $143.00 to $145.00 in a report on Friday, July 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $145.22.

About Abbott Laboratories

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.