Abbott Laboratories $ABT Shares Sold by New England Research & Management Inc.

Key Points

• New England Research & Management Inc. significantly reduced its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 45.3%, now holding 10,334 shares valued at approximately $1.41 million.
• Abbott Laboratories reported Q2 earnings meeting expectations with earnings per share of $1.26 and a revenue of $11.14 billion, marking a 7.4% year-over-year increase.
• There have been several analyst adjustments, with Jefferies upgrading Abbott Laboratories from "hold" to "buy" and increasing the target price to $145, while Wells Fargo decreased their price target to $142.

New England Research & Management Inc. lessened its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 45.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,334 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 8,550 shares during the period. New England Research & Management Inc.'s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,406,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 169,823,136 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $22,527,039,000 after purchasing an additional 1,177,739 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 3,371,113 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 29.2% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 15,985,797 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $2,120,516,000 after purchasing an additional 3,616,471 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 12.8% in the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 14,451,305 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $1,916,966,000 after acquiring an additional 1,639,954 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,108,416 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $1,738,831,000 after acquiring an additional 168,095 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of ABT traded up $1.65 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $136.22. The stock had a trading volume of 11,531,874 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,669,107. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.82. The firm has a market cap of $237.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.69. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $130.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $131.20. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $110.86 and a 12-month high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.26. The business had revenue of $11.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.01 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 18.32% and a net margin of 32.43%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.14 EPS. Abbott Laboratories has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.100-5.200 EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at 1.280-1.320 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 15th will be given a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Abbott Laboratories news, CFO Philip P. Boudreau sold 5,550 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.55, for a total value of $746,752.50. Following the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.46% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. William Blair upgraded Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $147.00 to $142.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Raymond James Financial reduced their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $142.00 to $141.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 18th. BTIG Research reduced their target price 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $145.22.

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.