Abbott Laboratories $ABT Shares Sold by Bahl & Gaynor Inc.

Key Points

• Bahl & Gaynor Inc. has reduced its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 2.4%, selling 23,572 shares and retaining a total of 966,888 shares worth approximately $128.3 million.
• Analysts currently have a consensus target price of $144.47 for Abbott Laboratories, with two ratings as Strong Buy and sixteen as Buy according to recent reports.
• Abbott Laboratories reported a revenue of $11.14 billion for the quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, with a dividend yield of 1.8% following its recent quarterly dividend announcement.

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. decreased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 2.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 966,888 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 23,572 shares during the quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of Abbott Laboratories worth $128,258,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Elequin Capital LP purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. JCIC Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter worth about $33,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $147.00 to $142.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Leerink Partners started coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, June 16th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $143.00 price target on the stock. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Abbott Laboratories to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Abbott Laboratories from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $143.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $144.47.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Philip P. Boudreau sold 5,550 shares of Abbott Laboratories 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 directly owned 51,003 shares of the company's stock, 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

ABT traded down $0.76 on Thursday, hitting $130.70. 1,754,740 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,749,651. The company has a 50 day moving average of $131.01 and a 200-day moving average of $131.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $227.48 billion, a PE ratio of 16.38, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.70. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $110.86 and a 12-month high of $141.23.

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

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

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

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.