Rafferty Asset Management LLC Sells 36,110 Shares of Abbott Laboratories $ABT

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 18.4%, selling 36,110 shares and retaining a total of 160,596 shares valued at approximately $21.3 million.
• Abbott Laboratories' recent quarterly earnings matched consensus estimates with an EPS of $1.26 and reported a year-over-year revenue increase of 7.4% to $11.14 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.59 per share, representing an annualized yield of 1.8%, with a payout ratio currently at 29.57%.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 18.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 160,596 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 36,110 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $21,303,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Abbott Laboratories 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 value of $746,752.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ABT traded up $1.22 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $132.59. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,430,637 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,346,421. The stock has a market capitalization of $230.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.61, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.82 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $130.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $131.34. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $110.86 and a 12-month high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26. The business had revenue of $11.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.01 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 18.32% and a net margin of 32.43%.Abbott Laboratories's quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.14 earnings per share. Abbott Laboratories has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.100-5.200 EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at 1.280-1.320 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th were issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Abbott Laboratories from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $143.00 to $145.00 in a report on Friday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $147.00 to $142.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs raised Abbott Laboratories to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $144.47.

Abbott Laboratories Company Profile

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.