Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Acquires 7,503 Shares of Abbott Laboratories $ABT

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 3.4%, acquiring 7,503 additional shares, bringing their total ownership to 227,526 shares valued at $30.9 million.
• Institutional investors own 75.18% of Abbott's stock, with several firms like Nuveen LLC and Goldman Sachs Group significantly increasing their stakes in the company.
• Recent analyst ratings for Abbott Laboratories indicate a "Moderate Buy" consensus with an average price target of $144.47, showing confidence in the stock's potential for growth.

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 227,526 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after purchasing an additional 7,503 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $30,946,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter worth $27,000. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter worth $28,000. Elequin Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter worth $30,000. Wormser Freres Gestion purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter worth $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 51,003 shares in the company, valued at $6,862,453.65. This trade represents a 9.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. William Blair upgraded Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Mizuho increased 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. BTIG Research lowered their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $148.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $127.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective 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, fifteen have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $145.22.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:ABT traded up $1.65 on Friday, reaching $136.22. 11,531,874 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,828,819. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $130.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $131.19. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $110.86 and a 52 week high of $141.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $237.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.69. 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 (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 18.32% and a net margin of 32.43%.The firm had revenue of $11.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.01 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.14 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 15th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.57%.

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.