Abbott Laboratories $ABT Shares Acquired by Southeast Asset Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Southeast Asset Advisors LLC has increased its shares in Abbott Laboratories by 25.7%, acquiring an additional 2,327 shares during Q1, bringing its total holdings to 11,374 shares valued at approximately $1.5 million.
• Several institutional investors have also recently increased their stakes in Abbott Laboratories, which now has a significant institutional ownership of 75.18%.
• Wall Street analysts have upgraded Abbott's stock ratings, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $144.47, reflecting positive growth forecasts.

Southeast Asset Advisors LLC raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 25.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,374 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after buying an additional 2,327 shares during the quarter. Southeast Asset Advisors LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,509,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ABT. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake 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 during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 152,719 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $17,274,000 after buying an additional 2,774 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 36,987 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $4,184,000 after acquiring an additional 1,330 shares during the last quarter. Capital Analysts LLC raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 88,675 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $10,030,000 after acquiring an additional 3,314 shares during the period. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 72,346 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $8,183,000 after purchasing an additional 4,063 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on ABT. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Abbott Laboratories from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $143.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Raymond James Financial lowered their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $142.00 to $141.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $147.00 to $142.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $144.47.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, CFO Philip P. Boudreau sold 5,550 shares of Abbott Laboratories 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 51,003 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,862,453.65. The trade was a 9.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 0.1%

NYSE:ABT traded down $0.20 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $131.39. 4,758,734 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,529,959. The company has a market capitalization of $228.68 billion, a PE ratio of 16.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 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 $110.86 and a fifty-two week high of $141.23. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $131.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $131.33.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26. The company 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.14 earnings per share. Abbott Laboratories has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.100-5.200 EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at 1.280-1.320 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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%.

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.