Abbott Laboratories $ABT Stock Holdings Lowered by CENTRAL TRUST Co

Key Points

• CENTRAL TRUST Co cut its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 10.2% in Q4, selling 13,024 shares and ending the period with 114,956 shares valued at about $14.4 million.
• Director Daniel J. Starks bought 10,000 ABT shares at $108.73 on Feb. 4, increasing his holding to 6,738,817 shares, while insiders overall were net buyers (22,200 acquired vs. 3,055 sold) over the last 90 days.
• Analysts have trimmed price targets (many into the $109–$120 range) but the consensus remains a "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $119.43; Abbott also beat quarterly estimates, set FY2026 EPS guidance of 5.38–5.58, and announced a $0.63 quarterly dividend (2.8% yield).

CENTRAL TRUST Co lowered its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 10.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 114,956 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 13,024 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $14,403,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Guerra Advisors Inc bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Bridge Generations Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Copia Wealth Management bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Daniel J. Starks bought 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $108.73 per share, for a total transaction of $1,087,300.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 6,738,817 shares in the company, valued at $732,711,572.41. This represents a 0.15% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mary K. Moreland sold 613 shares of the firm'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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 104,291 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,053,953.78. The trade was a 0.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders acquired 22,200 shares of company stock valued at $2,215,100 and sold 3,055 shares valued at $353,097. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $122.00 to $109.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 17th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $137.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Raymond James Financial decreased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $115.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $115.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $119.43.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

NYSE:ABT opened at $89.51 on Friday. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $89.14 and a twelve month high of $139.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a 50-day moving average of $104.33 and a 200-day moving average of $116.09. The firm has a market cap of $155.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.66.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.01. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.90% and a return on equity of 17.62%. The company had revenue of $11.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.09 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter 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. Analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.59%.

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.

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