Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. Grows Holdings in Abbott Laboratories $ABT

Key Points

• Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 481,458 shares valued at about $60.3 million.
• Abbott reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.15 versus $1.14 expected and revenue of $11.16 billion versus $10.99 billion estimated, while revenue rose 7.8% year over year.
• The company also maintained a steady dividend profile, paying a quarterly dividend of $0.63 per share for a 2.8% annualized yield, even as analysts hold a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy.”

Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 481,458 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after buying an additional 24,559 shares during the period. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc.'s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $60,322,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at $2,054,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,663,821 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $584,330,000 after purchasing an additional 83,377 shares during the period. Saranac Partners Ltd increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Saranac Partners Ltd now owns 4,335 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $544,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 16,866 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $2,113,000 after purchasing an additional 835 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 1,220,202 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $152,879,000 after acquiring an additional 124,733 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 1.0%

NYSE:ABT opened at $88.81 on Wednesday. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $81.97 and a 1-year high of $139.06. The company has a 50-day moving average of $98.14 and a 200 day moving average of $112.73. The firm has a market cap of $154.70 billion, a PE ratio of 24.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

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

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th were given a dividend of $0.63 per share. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 585 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.58, for a total transaction of $67,614.30. Following the sale, the vice president owned 24,628 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,846,504.24. This trade represents a 2.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Philip P. Boudreau acquired 2,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $91.50 per share, for a total transaction of $201,300.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 2,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $201,300. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 3,055 shares of company stock worth $353,097. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on ABT shares. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Daiwa Securities Group downgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $92.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reduced their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $115.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $119.43.

About Abbott Laboratories

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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