Ameritas Advisory Services LLC Sells 6,410 Shares of Abbott Laboratories $ABT

Key Points

• Ameritas Advisory Services LLC has reduced its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 38.4%, selling 6,410 shares and now owning a total of 10,273 shares valued at approximately $1.39 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Vanguard Group and Goldman Sachs, have increased their stakes in Abbott Laboratories, demonstrating strong institutional interest with insiders holding 75.18% of the stock.
• Abbott Laboratories recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.59 per share, with the stock experiencing a rise of 1.1%, currently trading at $134.49.

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC reduced its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 38.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,273 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 6,410 shares during the quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,397,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 0.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 169,823,136 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $22,527,039,000 after purchasing an additional 1,177,739 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 12.8% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 29,763,415 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $3,948,117,000 after acquiring an additional 3,371,113 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 29.2% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 15,985,797 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $2,120,516,000 after acquiring an additional 3,616,471 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 12.8% in the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 14,451,305 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $1,916,966,000 after acquiring an additional 1,639,954 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,108,416 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $1,738,831,000 after acquiring an additional 168,095 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, CFO Philip P. Boudreau sold 5,550 shares of Abbott Laboratories 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 51,003 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,862,453.65. This trade represents a 9.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 1.1%

Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $134.49 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $234.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.69. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $110.86 and a 1-year high of $141.23. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $131.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $131.36. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.26. The company had revenue of $11.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.01 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 18.32% and a net margin of 32.43%.Abbott Laboratories's revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. Abbott Laboratories has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.100-5.200 EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at 1.280-1.320 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 15th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Leerink Partners assumed coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, June 16th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $143.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $127.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Raymond James Financial lowered their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $142.00 to $141.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Two research 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 data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $145.39.

Abbott Laboratories 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.

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