Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ Cuts Position in Abbott Laboratories $ABT

Key Points

• Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ reduced its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 2.9% during the 1st quarter, selling 17,020 shares and now holds 561,115 shares valued at approximately $74.4 million.
• Abbott Laboratories reported $1.26 earnings per share for the last quarter, matching analyst expectations and achieving a revenue of $11.14 billion, reflecting a 7.4% year-over-year increase.
• Institutional investors currently hold 75.18% of Abbott Laboratories' stock, with several hedge funds acquiring new stakes during the 1st quarter, increasing interest in the company.

Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ lessened its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 2.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 561,115 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 17,020 shares during the period. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $74,432,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter worth $1,658,180,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 15,420.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,102,648 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $676,866,000 after acquiring an additional 5,069,771 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 29.2% in 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 purchasing an additional 3,616,471 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings 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 worth $3,948,117,000 after buying an additional 3,371,113 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 12.8% in 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 during the period. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, CFO Philip P. Boudreau sold 5,550 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.55, for a total transaction of $746,752.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 51,003 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,862,453.65. This trade represents a 9.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:ABT traded up $1.22 during trading on Friday, hitting $132.59. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,430,637 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,397,552. The company has a market capitalization of $230.76 billion, a PE ratio of 16.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $130.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $131.35. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $110.86 and a fifty-two week high of $141.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.82.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.26. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 32.43% and a return on equity of 18.32%. The business had revenue of $11.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter 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, research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th were paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ABT. Leerink Partnrs raised Abbott Laboratories to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, June 16th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $143.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $142.00 to $141.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 18th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $143.00 to $145.00 in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, William Blair upgraded Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $144.47.

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.