Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Has $11.45 Million Position in Abbott Laboratories $ABT

Key Points

• The Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its investment in Abbott Laboratories by 4% in Q2, holding a total of 84,163 shares valued at approximately $11.45 million.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on Abbott Laboratories, with recent ratings showing two "Strong Buy", fifteen "Buy", and four "Hold" ratings, while the current average consensus target price is $146.24.
• Abbott Laboratories announced a quarterly dividend of $0.59 per share, with an upcoming payment date on November 17th and an annualized dividend yield of 1.8%.

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 84,163 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after purchasing an additional 3,275 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $11,447,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ABT. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,658,180,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 29.2% during the first 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 boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 12.8% during the first 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 purchasing an additional 3,371,113 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Jensen Investment Management Inc. boosted its position 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 during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on ABT. BTIG Research dropped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $148.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $127.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. William Blair upgraded Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Leerink Partners began coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, June 16th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $143.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Leerink Partnrs upgraded Abbott Laboratories to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $146.24.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, CFO Philip P. Boudreau sold 5,550 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.55, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 9.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $134.45 on Thursday. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $132.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $131.48. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $110.86 and a one year high of $141.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.82 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The firm has a market cap of $234.00 billion, a PE ratio of 16.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.69.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 18.32% and a net margin of 32.43%.The firm had revenue of $11.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. The company's revenue 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 firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 15th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.57%.

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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