Erste Asset Management GmbH Sells 76,072 Shares of Abbott Laboratories $ABT

Key Points

• Erste Asset Management GmbH reduced its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 10.5%, selling 76,072 shares in the first quarter, which now represents about 1.1% of their investment portfolio.
• Significant interest from institutional investors has been noted, with Nuveen LLC acquiring a new stake worth $1.66 billion and Goldman Sachs increasing its share by 29.2%.
• Abbott Laboratories announced a quarterly dividend of $0.59, translating to an annualized yield of 1.8%, and reported consistent earnings of $1.26 per share for its most recent quarter.

Erste Asset Management GmbH lowered its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 10.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 651,538 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 76,072 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories makes up about 1.1% of Erste Asset Management GmbH's investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Erste Asset Management GmbH's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $86,073,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ABT. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter worth $1,658,180,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 383.1% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,358,698 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $945,453,000 after purchasing an additional 6,628,310 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 15,420.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,102,648 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $676,866,000 after purchasing an additional 5,069,771 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 29.2% during the first 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. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 12.8% during the first 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. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. BTIG Research decreased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $148.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $147.00 to $142.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Leerink Partnrs raised Abbott Laboratories to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Two equities research 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.com, Abbott Laboratories has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $144.47.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, CFO Philip P. Boudreau sold 5,550 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.55, for a total value of $746,752.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 51,003 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $131.1940 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $228.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.70. The stock's 50-day moving average is $131.28 and its 200-day moving average is $131.24. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $110.33 and a one year high of $141.23. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26. The company had revenue of $11.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.01 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 18.32% and a net margin of 32.43%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.14 earnings per share. Abbott Laboratories has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.100-5.200 EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at 1.280-1.320 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th were issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is 29.57%.

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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