Abbott Laboratories $ABT Stock: Financial Solutions Advisory Group Inc. Lowers Position

Key Points

• Financial Solutions Advisory Group cut its Abbott Laboratories stake by 46.3% in the third quarter, selling 10,923 shares and retaining 12,667 shares valued at approximately $1.33 million. Institutional investors collectively own 75.18% of ABT.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive but mixed: Abbott has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $118.32, despite Argus downgrading the stock to Hold and BTIG reducing its target.
• Abbott reported quarterly EPS of $1.42 and revenue of $13.01 billion, with revenue up 14.5% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.63 per share, representing a 2.4% yield.

Financial Solutions Advisory Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 46.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,667 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 10,923 shares during the period. Financial Solutions Advisory Group Inc.'s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,329,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Elwood & Goetz Wealth Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Elwood & Goetz Wealth Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,216 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $318,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Parkway Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 3.2% in the third quarter. Parkway Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 3,208 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $317,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 1.0% during the second quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC now owns 9,859 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $895,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. AA Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 1.7% during the third quarter. AA Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,186 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $611,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.2% during the third quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 8,448 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $835,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $119.00 to $127.00 in a report on Friday, October 2nd. BTIG Research lowered their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $134.00 to $125.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Argus lowered shares of Abbott Laboratories from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $112.00 to $119.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $118.00 price objective (up from $115.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Friday, July 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $118.32.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of ABT stock opened at $104.37 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.38. The business's 50 day moving average price is $104.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $102.15. The firm has a market cap of $180.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.59. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $81.97 and a fifty-two week high of $132.02.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The healthcare product maker reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.42. The firm had revenue of $13.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.99 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 17.97% and a net margin of 9.75%. The business's revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.30 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 15th will be given a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 15th. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 94.03%.

Key Headlines Impacting Abbott Laboratories

Here are the key news stories impacting Abbott Laboratories this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Abbott initiated the pivotal CROWN-MV trial for its investigational Cephea™ Mitral Valve System. The minimally invasive device targets symptomatic mitral valve disease patients who are not eligible for surgery or existing transcatheter repair, creating a potential future growth opportunity in structural heart care. However, the device remains investigational and commercialization is still dependent on trial results and regulatory approval. Abbott initiates pivotal trial for Cephea device
• Positive Sentiment: The company launched a next-generation Oncodetect test designed to detect residual cancer disease. The release reinforces Abbott’s diagnostics pipeline and could support longer-term growth if the test gains clinical adoption. Abbott launches next-generation Oncodetect test
• Positive Sentiment: Abbott reportedly received approximately $23.9 million in net ETF buying, indicating some institutional demand for the shares, although ETF flows are not a measure of operating performance. Abbott sees net ETF buying
• Neutral Sentiment: Abbott’s planned separation of its roughly $8.5 billion Nutrition business could allow management to focus more closely on medical devices, diagnostics and pharmaceuticals, but it would also remove a sizable source of revenue diversification. The transaction remains subject to regulatory and internal approvals. Potential Abbott Nutrition spin-off
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry reports project growth in South and Central American point-of-care diagnostics and European medical foods, markets in which Abbott participates. These reports provide favorable demand context but do not represent new company-specific contracts or guidance.
• Negative Sentiment: Argus Research downgraded Abbott from Buy to Hold, potentially limiting near-term upside and signaling a less favorable risk-reward assessment. Argus downgrades Abbott to Hold

Abbott Laboratories Profile

Abbott Laboratories is a global healthcare company that develops, manufactures and markets a broad range of medical products and services. Founded in 1888 by Wallace C. Abbott, the company is headquartered in Abbott Park, Illinois, and serves patients, healthcare providers and consumers in markets around the world.

Abbott operates across four principal businesses: medical devices, diagnostics, nutrition and established pharmaceutical products. Its offerings include glucose-monitoring systems such as FreeStyle Libre; cardiovascular devices, including stents and structural heart products; laboratory and point-of-care diagnostic systems; and branded generic medicines in areas such as gastroenterology, women's health and cardiometabolic care.

The company's nutrition portfolio includes infant and pediatric products such as Similac and PediaSure, adult nutritional products such as Ensure, and rehydration products such as Pedialyte.

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