Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Lowers Stake in Abbott Laboratories $ABT

Key Points

• Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 1.1% during Q2, now holding 988,641 shares worth $134.47 million, which represents approximately 1.2% of its investment portfolio.
• A significant portion of Abbott Laboratories' stock, about 75.18%, is owned by hedge funds and institutional investors, highlighting the company's attractiveness to large investors.
• Abbott Laboratories is scheduled to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.59 per share on November 17th, translating to an annualized dividend yield of 1.8% based on current valuations.

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 988,641 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 11,245 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories accounts for approximately 1.2% of Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of Abbott Laboratories worth $134,465,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter worth approximately $1,658,180,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 29.2% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 15,985,797 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $2,120,516,000 after buying an additional 3,616,471 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 12.8% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 29,763,415 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $3,948,117,000 after buying an additional 3,371,113 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 12.8% during the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 14,451,305 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $1,916,966,000 after purchasing an additional 1,639,954 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jensen Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1,221.2% during the first quarter. Jensen Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,365,785 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $181,171,000 after purchasing an additional 1,262,407 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, CFO Philip P. Boudreau sold 5,550 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.55, for a total transaction of $746,752.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 51,003 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,862,453.65. The trade was a 9.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $132.30 on Friday. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $110.86 and a one year high of $141.23. The company has a market cap of $230.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.58, a PEG ratio of 2.51 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 business's 50 day moving average price is $132.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $131.60.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate 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 EPS. The company'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. On average, research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 15th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is presently 29.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ABT. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $127.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Benchmark initiated coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Friday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $145.00 target price on the stock. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Abbott Laboratories to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $153.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $146.17.

Abbott Laboratories Company 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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