Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI Has $20.64 Million Position in Abbott Laboratories $ABT

Key Points

• Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 6.1%, holding 151,715 shares valued at approximately $20.64 million as of the latest reporting period.
• Abbott Laboratories recently reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.30 and a revenue of $11.37 billion, slightly below analysts' estimates.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.59 per share, representing an annualized yield of 1.8%, set to be paid on November 17th.

Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI lowered its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 6.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 151,715 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 9,933 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories makes up about 1.6% of Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI's investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $20,635,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 15.6% in the second quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 78,777 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $10,714,000 after acquiring an additional 10,642 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter valued at $292,000. Strategic Blueprint LLC lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 75.3% in the second quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 6,243 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $849,000 after acquiring an additional 2,682 shares during the last quarter. Granite Harbor Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 14.7% in the second quarter. Granite Harbor Advisors Inc. now owns 1,814 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $247,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.8% in the second quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 59,595 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $8,106,000 after purchasing an additional 1,070 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

NYSE:ABT opened at $127.83 on Thursday. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $110.86 and a 52 week high of $141.23. The firm has a market cap of $222.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.69. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $132.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $131.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.82.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.30. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.88% and a return on equity of 17.78%. The business had revenue of $11.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.40 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.21 earnings per share. Abbott Laboratories's revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Abbott Laboratories has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.120-5.180 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 15th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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 shares were 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ABT. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Raymond James Financial increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $146.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $142.00 to $146.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $149.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Benchmark began coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Friday, October 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $145.00 price objective on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $147.00.

About Abbott Laboratories

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.

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