North Dakota State Investment Board Purchases New Stake in Abbott Laboratories $ABT

Key Points

• North Dakota State Investment Board bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter, purchasing 59,377 shares valued at about $7.44 million.
• Institutional ownership remains high, with major holders like Vanguard and Capital International Investors increasing their positions; overall, 75.18% of Abbott shares are owned by institutions and hedge funds.
• Abbott reported quarterly results above estimates, posting $1.15 EPS on $11.16 billion in revenue, and it also maintained a quarterly dividend of $0.63 per share, implying a 3.0% yield.

North Dakota State Investment Board purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 59,377 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock, valued at approximately $7,439,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 175,556,716 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $21,995,501,000 after acquiring an additional 2,402,408 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 61,614,739 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $8,251,974,000 after acquiring an additional 1,478,076 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 15,096,907 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $2,022,080,000 after acquiring an additional 821,325 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 51.0% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 13,951,907 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $1,868,718,000 after acquiring an additional 4,713,135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 13,500,829 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $1,804,050,000 after acquiring an additional 499,351 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Mary K. Moreland sold 613 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.58, for a total value of $70,850.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 104,291 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,053,953.78. This represents a 0.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Eric Shroff sold 709 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.58, for a total value of $81,946.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 39,164 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,526,575.12. The trade was a 1.78% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,055 shares of company stock valued at $353,097. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on ABT shares. Citigroup dropped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $108.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $150.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Freedom Capital raised Abbott Laboratories from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Raymond James Financial dropped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $115.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $119.43.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ABT opened at $84.49 on Monday. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $81.97 and a 1-year high of $139.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The business's fifty day moving average price is $99.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $113.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $147.16 billion, a PE ratio of 23.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.65.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.01. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 17.62% and a net margin of 13.90%.The firm had revenue of $11.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.99 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.09 earnings per share. The firm'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. On average, research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.48 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th were paid a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is presently 70.59%.

Abbott Laboratories Company 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.

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