Abbott Laboratories $ABT Shares Sold by NFJ Investment Group LLC

Key Points

• NFJ Investment Group LLC has reduced its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 2.8%, now holding shares valued at approximately $25.85 million.
• Abbott Laboratories has seen significant interest from institutional investors, with 75.18% of its stock owned by such entities.
• The company reported earnings of $1.26 per share for the latest quarter, meeting analysts' expectations and reflecting a 7.4% year-over-year revenue growth.

NFJ Investment Group LLC reduced its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 2.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 194,849 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 5,547 shares during the quarter. NFJ Investment Group LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $25,847,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Kelly Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter worth $216,000. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 152,719 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $17,274,000 after buying an additional 2,774 shares in the last quarter. Edge Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 3.3% during the first quarter. Edge Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,530 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $336,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth $84,418,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 49.8% in the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 1,507,268 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $199,939,000 after acquiring an additional 501,200 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $127.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Raymond James Financial reduced their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $142.00 to $141.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, BTIG Research reduced their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $148.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $144.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Abbott Laboratories news, CFO Philip P. Boudreau sold 5,550 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.55, for a total transaction of $746,752.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 51,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,862,453.65. The trade was a 9.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 2.8%

Shares of ABT traded down $3.71 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $128.25. The company had a trading volume of 3,366,192 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,663,316. The stock has a market cap of $223.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.07, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.69. The company's 50 day moving average price is $130.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $131.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $110.86 and a 52 week 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 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.26. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 18.32% and a net margin of 32.43%.The company had revenue of $11.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. The business'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. On average, equities research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th were given a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is 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.