Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Cuts Stake in Abbott Laboratories $ABT

Key Points

• Aptus Capital Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 6.5%, now owning 161,529 shares valued at approximately $21.43 million.
• Abbott Laboratories recently reported quarterly earnings of $1.26 per share, matching analyst expectations, with revenues of $11.14 billion, above consensus estimates.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.59 per share, with a 1.8% dividend yield, reflecting a payout ratio of 29.57%.

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 6.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 161,529 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 11,232 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $21,427,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BTIG Research dropped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $148.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $127.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Raymond James Financial cut their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $142.00 to $141.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, William Blair upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $144.47.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

NYSE ABT traded down $0.4820 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $131.9580. The company had a trading volume of 3,979,978 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,828,092. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.82. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $110.86 and a 1-year high of $141.23. The company has a market cap of $229.67 billion, a PE ratio of 16.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.70. The business has a 50 day moving average of $131.23 and a 200-day moving average of $131.25.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. Abbott Laboratories's revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. 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 research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th were given a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is 29.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Philip P. Boudreau sold 5,550 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 51,003 shares in the company, valued at $6,862,453.65. This represents a 9.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.