Fred Alger Management LLC Buys 108,690 Shares of Abbott Laboratories $ABT

Key Points

• Fred Alger Management LLC increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 353.6%, buying an additional 108,690 shares, bringing its total to 139,431 shares worth $18,496,000.
• Abbott Laboratories recently met analysts' earnings consensus with reported earnings of $1.26 per share and a revenue of $11.14 billion for the quarter, reflecting a 7.4% year-over-year increase.
• Analysts maintain an average rating of "Moderate Buy" for Abbott Laboratories, with a projected price target of $144.47 per share.

Fred Alger Management LLC grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 353.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 139,431 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after acquiring an additional 108,690 shares during the quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $18,496,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter worth about $576,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 4.5% during the first quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 47,884 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $6,352,000 after acquiring an additional 2,081 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 50.7% during the first quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 1,775 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $235,000 after acquiring an additional 597 shares during the period. Scientech Research LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter worth about $1,026,000. Finally, Sepio Capital LP increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 11.4% during the first quarter. Sepio Capital LP now owns 240,652 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $31,923,000 after acquiring an additional 24,577 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. BTIG Research lowered their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $148.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of 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 upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Finally, William Blair upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $144.47.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Philip P. Boudreau sold 5,550 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $6,862,453.65. The trade was a 9.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 0.5%

ABT opened at $132.27 on Tuesday. The company's 50 day moving average is $130.60 and its 200-day moving average is $131.36. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $110.86 and a 1-year high of $141.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company has a market cap of $230.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.58, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.69.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 32.43% and a return on equity of 18.32%. The company had revenue of $11.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.01 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.14 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Abbott Laboratories has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.100-5.200 EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at 1.280-1.320 EPS. Equities research 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 given a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is 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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