Bellwether Advisors LLC Takes Position in Abbott Laboratories $ABT

Key Points

• Bellwether Advisors LLC initiated a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter, buying 21,015 shares valued at about $2.63 million.
• Abbott reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.15 beating estimates and revenue of $11.16 billion topping forecasts, while revenue rose 7.8% year over year.
• Analysts remain mostly positive on the stock despite some target cuts; Abbott currently carries a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $119.43.

Bellwether Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 21,015 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock, valued at approximately $2,633,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter valued at $29,000. Guerra Advisors Inc bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter valued at $31,000. Bridge Generations Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Copia Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABT opened at $86.50 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $150.67 billion, a PE ratio of 24.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.65. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $95.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $111.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.39. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $81.97 and a one year high of $139.06.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $11.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.99 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.90% and a return on equity of 17.62%. Abbott Laboratories's revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.09 earnings per share. Abbott Laboratories has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.380-5.580 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 1.250-1.310 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.48 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, SVP Eric Shroff sold 709 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.58, for a total transaction of $81,946.22. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 39,164 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,526,575.12. This trade represents a 1.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Mary K. Moreland sold 613 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.58, for a total transaction of $70,850.54. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 104,291 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,053,953.78. The trade was a 0.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 3,055 shares of company stock valued at $353,097 over the last quarter. 0.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on ABT. Freedom Capital raised shares of Abbott Laboratories from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Raymond James Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $115.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 17th. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $131.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $119.43.

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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