Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Boosts Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories $ABT

Key Points

• Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 5.9%, owning 122,438 shares valued at $16.24 million, following the acquisition of an additional 6,801 shares.
• Several large investors are modifying their stakes in Abbott Laboratories, with institutional investors owning 75.18% of the company's stock.
• Abbott's quarterly results met earnings estimates, reporting $1.26 EPS and $11.14 billion in revenue, demonstrating a 7.4% year-over-year revenue growth.

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 5.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 122,438 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after purchasing an additional 6,801 shares during the quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.'s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $16,241,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 51,719 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $5,850,000 after purchasing an additional 4,755 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 152,719 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $17,274,000 after purchasing an additional 2,774 shares in the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 16,568 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $1,874,000 after purchasing an additional 1,327 shares in the last quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,803 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $996,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 20.9% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 719,317 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $81,362,000 after acquiring an additional 124,259 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ABT traded up $1.0530 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $132.3030. The stock had a trading volume of 3,639,775 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,846,146. The firm has a market cap of $230.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.58, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $110.68 and a fifty-two week high of $141.23. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $131.28 and a 200-day moving average of $131.24.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26. The firm had revenue of $11.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.01 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 18.32% and a net margin of 32.43%.The business's revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $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 predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th were paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Mizuho upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Raymond James Financial lowered their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $142.00 to $141.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $147.00 to $142.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Abbott Laboratories from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $143.00 to $145.00 in a research 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 issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $144.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Abbott Laboratories news, CFO Philip P. Boudreau sold 5,550 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 51,003 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,862,453.65. This represents a 9.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Abbott Laboratories 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.