Capital World Investors Lowers Stake in Abbott Laboratories $ABT

Key Points

• Capital World Investors cut its Abbott Laboratories stake by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 460,241 shares and leaving it with 8.47 million shares valued at about $1.06 billion.
• Several other institutions also adjusted holdings in ABT, with firms like Vanguard, Capital International Investors, and Norges Bank increasing positions; overall, institutional ownership stands at 75.18%.
• Analysts have mostly stayed positive but lowered price targets, while Abbott’s latest earnings beat expectations with Q1 EPS of $1.15 and revenue of $11.16 billion, and insiders including the CFO and a director recently bought shares.

Capital World Investors reduced its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 5.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,466,861 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 460,241 shares during the quarter. Capital World Investors owned 0.49% of Abbott Laboratories worth $1,060,823,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 175,556,716 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $21,995,501,000 after purchasing an additional 2,402,408 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 63,229,445 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $7,922,519,000 after acquiring an additional 1,614,706 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 39,169,239 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $4,907,523,000 after acquiring an additional 400,400 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,938,892,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 51.0% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 13,951,907 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $1,868,718,000 after acquiring an additional 4,713,135 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ABT. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $121.00 to $113.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 17th. Raymond James Financial cut their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $115.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Argus cut their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $119.09.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, CFO Philip P. Boudreau acquired 2,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $91.50 per share, with a total value of $201,300.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 2,200 shares of the company's stock, valued at $201,300. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Daniel J. Starks bought 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $92.65 per share, with a total value of $926,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,751,103 shares in the company, valued at $625,489,692.95. This represents a 0.15% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of ABT stock opened at $91.20 on Monday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $92.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $109.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $158.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.55, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.63. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $81.97 and a fifty-two week high of $139.06.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.01. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 17.62% and a net margin of 13.90%.The company had revenue of $11.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.09 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. 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. Research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories 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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