Moran Wealth Management LLC Sells 73,546 Shares of Abbott Laboratories $ABT

Key Points

• Moran Wealth Management cut its stake in Abbott by 97.7%, selling 73,546 shares in Q4 and retaining just 1,709 shares worth about $214,000.
• Several major brokers have trimmed price targets (e.g., UBS, Argus, Benchmark), which has pressured the stock even as many firms keep "buy" ratings and ABT trades near its 52‑week low.
• Abbott slightly beat Q1 EPS and revenue estimates, set FY2026 guidance of $5.38–$5.58 EPS, and pays a $0.63 quarterly dividend (about a 2.7% yield).

Moran Wealth Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 97.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,709 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 73,546 shares during the quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $214,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ABT. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Guerra Advisors Inc purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Bridge Generations Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Copia Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth approximately $38,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Abbott Laboratories news, SVP Eric Shroff sold 709 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.58, for a total value of $81,946.22. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 39,164 shares in the company, valued at $4,526,575.12. This trade represents a 1.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Elizabeth C. Cushman sold 263 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.58, for a total transaction of $30,397.54. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 38,573 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,458,267.34. This trade represents a 0.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 3,055 shares of company stock valued at $353,097 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Key Abbott Laboratories News

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

• Positive Sentiment: UBS kept a "buy" rating on ABT, signaling continued conviction in Abbott's franchise despite trimming its price target — a vote of confidence from a major bank. UBS Sticks to Their Buy Rating for Abbott Laboratories (ABT)
• Positive Sentiment: Income-minded investors are seeing value: recent coverage highlights a dividend yield near 3% and labels ABT a "dividend king" opportunity for buy-the-dip investors. That supports demand from yield-focused funds. Abbott Laboratories Just Got Interesting: Dividend Yield Near 3% Signals Opportunity
• Positive Sentiment: Progress on Abbott’s CancerGuard multi-cancer early-detection program and new DETECT A outcomes reinforce the company’s long-term diagnostics growth narrative. Positive clinical/award news can support upside over time. Abbott’s CancerGuard Progress Adds New Dimension To Diagnostics Growth Story
• Neutral Sentiment: Options-market activity is drawing attention; spikes in put/call flows can foreshadow moves but aren’t a directional confirmation by themselves. Traders may use this as a signal for volatility, not fundamentals. Is the Options Market Predicting a Spike in Abbott Laboratories Stock?
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage notes that ABT is trading near its 52-week low while many analysts remain bullish — an outlook that supports buy-side interest if sentiment stabilizes. Wall Street Refuses to Blink: 2 Healthcare Stocks at 52-Week Lows That Analysts Still Love
• Negative Sentiment: Major banks collectively trimmed price targets (multiple firm actions published), creating downward pressure on the stock as headline PT cuts refresh sell-side valuation estimates. This broad re-rating is a primary driver of today’s weakness. Mizuho Cuts Abbott Laboratories Price Target
• Negative Sentiment: UBS and Argus lowered their targets (UBS to $135; Argus to $125) even while keeping buy ratings — a mixed signal that reduces near-term upside expectations vs. prior levels. UBS Adjusts Abbott Laboratories Price Target to $135
• Negative Sentiment: Social and analyst chatter highlights that Q1 results beat estimates but management trimmed full-year guidance (diagnostics headwinds, mild flu season, acquisition costs), which triggered post-earnings selling and still weighs on sentiment. Abbott Laboratories Stock Opinions on Q1 Earnings and Guidance Cut

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of ABT opened at $92.83 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $161.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.79. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $92.65 and a twelve month high of $139.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The company has a 50 day moving average of $107.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $118.00.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $11.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.99 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.90% and a return on equity of 17.71%. Abbott Laboratories's revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm 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, analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be paid a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Benchmark reduced their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 17th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $137.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 17th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $131.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $123.00 to $110.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $120.35.

About Abbott Laboratories

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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