Bank of Nova Scotia Trims Stock Holdings in Abbott Laboratories $ABT

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia reduced its Abbott Laboratories stake by 16.8% in the first quarter, selling 52,490 shares and leaving it with 259,747 shares valued at about $26.7 million.
• Analysts have mostly positive views on ABT, though several trimmed price targets; the stock now carries a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” with an average target of $118.61.
• Abbott reported solid quarterly results, beating EPS estimates with $1.31 per share and raising full-year guidance, while also announcing a $0.63 quarterly dividend.

Bank of Nova Scotia lessened its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 16.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 259,747 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 52,490 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $26,668,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ABT. Dickmeyer Boyce Financial Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter valued at approximately $829,000. Ascension Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter worth approximately $459,000. Forefront Analytics LLC increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 34.3% in the 1st quarter. Forefront Analytics LLC now owns 5,043 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $518,000 after acquiring an additional 1,287 shares during the last quarter. B&D White Capital Company LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,413,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 613,310 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $62,968,000 after acquiring an additional 4,030 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $121.00 to $113.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 17th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $102.00 in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, BTIG Research increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $131.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $118.61.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Abbott Laboratories news, Director Daniel J. Starks bought 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $92.65 per share, with a total value of $926,500.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 6,751,103 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $625,489,692.95. The trade was a 0.15% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 2.4%

Shares of NYSE:ABT opened at $103.13 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company's 50-day moving average price is $91.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $101.33. The company has a market cap of $179.63 billion, a PE ratio of 33.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.61. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $81.97 and a fifty-two week high of $137.49.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.03. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 11.65% and a return on equity of 17.65%. The firm had revenue of $12.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.26 EPS. Abbott Laboratories's quarterly revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. Abbott Laboratories has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.380-1.46 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 5.450-5.60 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 15th will be given a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 81.55%.

Abbott Laboratories Company Profile

Abbott Laboratories is a global healthcare company headquartered in Abbott Park, Illinois, that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of medical products and services. Founded in 1888, Abbott operates through multiple business areas that focus on diagnostics, medical devices, nutritionals and established pharmaceuticals. The company supplies hospitals, clinics, laboratories, retailers and direct-to-consumer channels with products intended to diagnose, treat and manage a wide range of health conditions.

In diagnostics, Abbott provides laboratory and point-of-care testing platforms and assays used to detect infectious diseases, chronic conditions and biomarkers; its Alinity family of instruments and rapid-test solutions are examples of this capability.

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