Bridges Investment Management Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories $ABT

Key Points

• Bridges Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 1.3% in the second quarter, leaving them with 244,639 shares worth approximately $33.27 million.
• Abbott Laboratories reported a net margin of 32.43% and achieved earnings of $1.30 per share for the recent quarter, matching analysts' expectations.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.59 per share, payable on November 17, reflecting an annualized yield of 1.8%.

Bridges Investment Management Inc. lessened its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 1.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 244,639 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 3,343 shares during the period. Bridges Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $33,273,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,658,180,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 29.2% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 15,985,797 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $2,120,516,000 after purchasing an additional 3,616,471 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 12.8% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 29,763,415 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $3,948,117,000 after purchasing an additional 3,371,113 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 98.6% in the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 3,467,896 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $471,669,000 after purchasing an additional 1,721,523 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 12.8% in the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 14,451,305 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $1,916,966,000 after purchasing an additional 1,639,954 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, CFO Philip P. Boudreau sold 5,550 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.55, for a total value of $746,752.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

ABT opened at $129.35 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $225.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.21, a PEG ratio of 2.53 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 company has a 50 day simple moving average of $132.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $131.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.82 and a quick ratio of 1.30.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.30. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 32.43% and a return on equity of 18.32%. The firm had revenue of $11.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.21 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Abbott Laboratories has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.120-5.180 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 15th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is 29.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ABT. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $143.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Friday, July 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $153.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Benchmark began coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Friday, October 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $145.00 target price for the company. William Blair upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Two 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $146.17.

About Abbott Laboratories

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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