Natixis Advisors LLC Reduces Holdings in Abbott Laboratories $ABT

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC reduced its Abbott Laboratories stake by 10.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 184,696 shares and leaving it with 1,584,660 shares worth about $198.5 million.
• Several analysts trimmed their price targets on ABT, but the stock still carries a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $119.09.
• Abbott reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.15 and revenue of $11.16 billion, while also noting that two insiders recently bought shares.

Natixis Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 10.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,584,660 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 184,696 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.09% of Abbott Laboratories worth $198,542,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Freemont Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 197.2% during the 4th quarter. Freemont Management S.A. now owns 10,700 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $1,341,000 after purchasing an additional 7,100 shares during the period. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at $116,580,000. Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter valued at $185,640,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 24.3% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 246,586 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $30,931,000 after purchasing an additional 48,286 shares during the period. Finally, Mawer Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,255,780 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $168,199,000 after purchasing an additional 70,122 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ABT. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $122.00 to $109.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Leerink Partners decreased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $106.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Mizuho reduced their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $150.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and five 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 $119.09.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 2.5%

NYSE ABT opened at $87.70 on Tuesday. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $81.97 and a 1-year high of $139.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $94.07 and a 200-day moving average of $110.31. The firm has a market cap of $152.75 billion, a PE ratio of 24.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.63.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.01. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 17.62% and a net margin of 13.90%.The company had revenue of $11.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.09 EPS. Abbott Laboratories's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. 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 year.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, Director Daniel J. Starks bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The stock was bought at an average price of $92.65 per share, with a total value of $926,500.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 6,751,103 shares in the company, valued at approximately $625,489,692.95. The trade was a 0.15% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Philip P. Boudreau bought 2,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $91.50 per share, with a total value of $201,300.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 2,200 shares in the company, valued at $201,300. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ABT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.