Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC Sells 3,753 Shares of Abbott Laboratories $ABT

Key Points

• Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC has reduced its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 5.6%, selling 3,753 shares, leaving it with 63,570 shares valued at approximately $8.43 million.
• The CFO of Abbott Laboratories, Philip P. Boudreau, sold 5,550 shares at an average price of $134.55, resulting in a 9.81% decrease in his overall holdings.
• Abbott Laboratories recently reported a quarterly earnings of $1.26 EPS, meeting analyst expectations, with a revenue of $11.14 billion, reflecting a 7.4% year-over-year increase.

Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 5.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 63,570 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 3,753 shares during the period. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $8,433,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ABT. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,658,180,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 383.1% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,358,698 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $945,453,000 after buying an additional 6,628,310 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 15,420.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,102,648 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $676,866,000 after buying an additional 5,069,771 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 29.2% during 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 buying an additional 3,616,471 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 67,972,953 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $7,688,160,000 after buying an additional 2,229,026 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on ABT shares. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, June 16th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $143.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James Financial dropped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $142.00 to $141.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 18th. BTIG Research dropped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $148.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Abbott Laboratories from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $143.00 to $145.00 in a report on Friday, July 18th. Two equities 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $144.47.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

NYSE:ABT traded up $0.9240 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $131.1940. 4,654,703 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,856,202. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $110.33 and a twelve month high of $141.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $228.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.82 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $131.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $131.24.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 18.32% and a net margin of 32.43%.The business had revenue of $11.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.14 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. 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, analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, CFO Philip P. Boudreau sold 5,550 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.55, for a total transaction of $746,752.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 51,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,862,453.65. The trade was a 9.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

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.