Fifth Third Bancorp Acquires 46,097 Shares of Abbott Laboratories $ABT

Key Points

• Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 3.6%, acquiring an additional 46,097 shares, bringing its total to 1,326,375 shares valued at approximately $180.4 million.
• Analysts have generally boosted their price targets for Abbott Laboratories, with Morgan Stanley raising it from $127 to $137 and Evercore ISI lifting it from $140 to $145, demonstrating positive sentiment towards the company.
• Abbott Laboratories announced a quarterly dividend of $0.59 per share, with a payment date set for November 17th, reflecting a 1.7% annual yield based on its current payout ratio of 29.57%.

Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,326,375 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after purchasing an additional 46,097 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp owned 0.08% of Abbott Laboratories worth $180,400,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cim LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Cim LLC now owns 16,967 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $1,919,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Consilium Wealth Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.1% in the first quarter. Consilium Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 3,822 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $507,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.5% in the first quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 17,327 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $2,298,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. FF Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 4.3% in the second quarter. FF Advisors LLC now owns 1,904 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $259,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Opes Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.9% in the first quarter. Opes Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,854 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $379,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $127.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $147.00 to $142.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 18th. Leerink Partners started coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, June 16th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $143.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $145.22.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Philip P. Boudreau sold 5,550 shares of the company'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 value of $746,752.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 51,003 shares in the company, valued at $6,862,453.65. This represents a 9.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of ABT stock opened at $135.82 on Wednesday. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $110.86 and a fifty-two week high of $141.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $236.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.02, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.82. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $130.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $131.15.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 18.32% and a net margin of 32.43%.The business had revenue of $11.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.14 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Abbott Laboratories has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.100-5.200 EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at 1.280-1.320 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 15th will be given a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. 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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