Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA Makes New Investment in Abbott Laboratories $ABT

Key Points

• Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA opened a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter, buying 21,810 shares valued at about $2.73 million. Institutional ownership remains very high, with investors holding 75.18% of the stock.
• Abbott’s recent business momentum looks solid, as its Medical Devices segment grew 8.5% in Q1 and the company beat earnings and revenue expectations in its latest report. Abbott also raised guidance, reinforcing its long-term growth outlook.
• Despite recent share-price weakness and underperformance over the past year, analysts remain generally bullish; several firms cut price targets but kept buy/outperform ratings, and Wells Fargo reaffirmed a Buy rating. Abbott also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.63, implying an annualized yield of about 3.0%.

Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 21,810 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock, valued at approximately $2,733,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Guerra Advisors Inc bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Bridge Generations Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Copia Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter valued at about $38,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Abbott Laboratories this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Abbott’s Medical Devices segment delivered 8.5% Q1 growth, with electrophysiology, rhythm management, and heart failure products driving gains. That reinforces the company’s long-term growth story and suggests its device portfolio remains a key catalyst for ABT. Abbott's Medical Device Strategy Supports Long-Term Growth Outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street analysts remain bullish on Abbott Laboratories despite its recent underperformance versus the broader market, which can help cushion sentiment around the stock. Abbott Laboratories Stock: Analyst Estimates & Ratings
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo reaffirmed its Buy rating on ABT, adding to the view that analysts still see upside potential despite near-term weakness. Wells Fargo Reaffirms Their Buy Rating on Abbott Laboratories (ABT)
• Neutral Sentiment: Erste Group Bank slightly lowered its FY2026 EPS estimate for Abbott to $5.47 from $5.48, which is only a minor change and close to consensus, so the impact looks limited. Abbott Laboratories news item referencing Erste Group Bank estimate reduction
• Negative Sentiment: ABT has underperformed over the past year, and recent share-price weakness has kept investors focused on whether the stock is now cheap rather than on a strong near-term rebound. Is Abbott Laboratories (ABT) Now Offering Value After Recent Share Price Weakness?

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ABT. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 17th. Oppenheimer cut their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $115.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 17th. Raymond James Financial cut their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $115.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $121.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $119.43.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

NYSE:ABT opened at $84.24 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.39. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $102.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $115.09. The company has a market cap of $146.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.65. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $84.08 and a 52-week high of $139.06.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $11.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.99 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 17.62% and a net margin of 13.90%.Abbott Laboratories's quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business 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, sell-side analysts forecast 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 will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be given a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is currently 70.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Mary K. Moreland sold 613 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.58, for a total value of $70,850.54. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 104,291 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,053,953.78. The trade was a 0.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Philip P. Boudreau purchased 2,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were acquired 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $201,300. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 3,055 shares of company stock valued at $353,097 in the last quarter. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Profile

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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