Bleakley Financial Group LLC Grows Position in Abbott Laboratories $ABT

Key Points

• Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 15.6% in the second quarter, now holding 78,777 shares valued at approximately $10.7 million.
• Multiple analysts have recently upgraded their ratings for Abbott Laboratories, with William Blair giving it a "strong-buy" rating and Raymond James increasing the target price to $146.
• Abbott Laboratories announced a quarterly dividend of $0.59 per share, representing a yield of 1.8%, with a dividend payout ratio of 29.57%.

Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 15.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 78,777 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after purchasing an additional 10,642 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $10,714,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ABT. IMG Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 759.1% during the 2nd quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 189 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter worth $27,000. Abound Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Elequin Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ABT shares. William Blair upgraded Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Raymond James Financial increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $159.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $147.00.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, CFO Philip P. Boudreau sold 5,550 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 51,003 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,862,453.65. The trade was a 9.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of ABT opened at $127.83 on Thursday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $222.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.69. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $110.86 and a 1 year high of $141.23. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $132.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $131.52.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.30. The company had revenue of $11.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.40 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.88% and a return on equity of 17.78%. Abbott Laboratories's quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.21 earnings per share. Abbott Laboratories has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.120-5.180 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 15th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.

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