AQR Capital Management LLC Acquires 222,565 Shares of Abbott Laboratories $ABT

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC has increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 14.9%, acquiring an additional 222,565 shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately $227.1 million.
• Institutional investors now hold 75.18% of Abbott Laboratories' shares, reflecting significant interest in the company's stock during the first quarter.
• Abbott Laboratories recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.59 per share, representing an annualized yield of 1.8% and a payout ratio of 29.57%.

AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 14.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,716,693 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after buying an additional 222,565 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.10% of Abbott Laboratories worth $227,118,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cim LLC raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Cim LLC now owns 16,967 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $1,919,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Consilium Wealth Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Consilium Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 3,822 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $507,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 17,327 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $2,298,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Opes Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Opes Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,854 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $379,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lcnb Corp raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Lcnb Corp now owns 15,917 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $2,111,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on ABT shares. BTIG Research dropped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $148.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Leerink Partners started coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, June 16th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $143.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $127.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Raymond James Financial dropped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $142.00 to $141.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $144.47.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, CFO Philip P. Boudreau sold 5,550 shares of the business'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 directly owned 51,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,862,453.65. The trade was a 9.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE ABT traded up $0.11 during trading on Friday, reaching $132.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,286,796 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,085,004. The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $231.33 billion, a PE ratio of 16.66, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.69. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $130.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $131.39. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $110.86 and a 1-year high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 32.43% and a return on equity of 18.32%. The business had revenue of $11.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.14 earnings per share. 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. On average, research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

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

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.