Madison Asset Management LLC Lowers Stake in Abbott Laboratories $ABT

Key Points

• Madison Asset Management cut its Abbott Laboratories stake by 15.9% in Q1, selling 15,541 shares and leaving it with 82,140 shares valued at about $8.43 million.
• Abbott reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $1.31 per share, slightly ahead of estimates, while revenue rose 13% year over year to $12.51 billion.
• The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.63 per share, equal to an annualized yield of 2.5%, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Moderate Buy.

Madison Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 15.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 82,140 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 15,541 shares during the period. Madison Asset Management LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $8,433,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 51,719 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $5,850,000 after buying an additional 4,755 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 3.5% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,768 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $648,000 after buying an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. United Bank grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 7.4% during the second quarter. United Bank now owns 29,004 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $3,945,000 after acquiring an additional 2,001 shares during the last quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 13.6% during the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 11,894 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $1,618,000 after acquiring an additional 1,428 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 25.6% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,435,683 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $195,267,000 after acquiring an additional 292,547 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of NYSE ABT opened at $99.67 on Wednesday. The firm's fifty day moving average is $90.58 and its 200 day moving average is $101.66. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $81.97 and a 52 week high of $137.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a market cap of $173.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.26, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.61.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.03. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 11.65% and a return on equity of 17.65%. The business had revenue of $12.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.26 EPS. The company's revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. Abbott Laboratories has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.380-1.46 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 5.450-5.60 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 15th will be paid a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.55%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 17th. BTIG Research boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $131.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $121.00 to $113.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Leerink Partners lowered their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $106.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $118.61.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, Director Daniel J. Starks purchased 10,000 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The shares were bought at an average price of $92.65 per share, for a total transaction of $926,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 6,751,103 shares in the company, valued at approximately $625,489,692.95. This trade represents a 0.15% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Philip P. Boudreau acquired 2,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $91.50 per share, with a total value of $201,300.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer owned 2,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $201,300. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Company 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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