Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Sells 159,473 Shares of Abbott Laboratories $ABT

Key Points

• Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH trimmed its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 10.6%, selling 159,473 shares and now holds 1,340,260 shares valued at about $167.7 million (≈0.08% of the company).
• Abbott beat Q1 estimates on EPS and revenue but management cut full‑year guidance, which precipitated the post‑earnings selloff.
• Several brokers trimmed price targets but largely kept buy/overweight ratings; the stock has a consensus "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $119.43 and a dividend yield near 2.7% while trading near its 52‑week low.

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH trimmed its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 10.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,340,260 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 159,473 shares during the quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned approximately 0.08% of Abbott Laboratories worth $167,749,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ABT. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Guerra Advisors Inc bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Bridge Generations Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Copia Wealth Management bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Abbott Laboratories this week:

• Positive Sentiment: UBS reaffirmed a buy rating on ABT (while trimming its target), keeping analyst support that underpins a constructive view of the stock. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend-focused coverage highlights a near‑3% yield and argues the pullback could be a buy opportunity for income investors. This supports demand from dividend-seeking funds. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Opinion pieces urging investors to "buy the dip" and comparing ABT favorably within medical devices highlight confidence in the company’s longer-term fundamentals despite the recent pullback. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage noting ABT trades near its 52‑week low while analysts remain bullish frames the current level as potential upside from existing price targets, attracting value-oriented investors. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Abbott’s CancerGuard / multi‑cancer early detection progress and new DETECT A outcomes add a strategic diagnostics growth narrative that could materially boost long‑term revenue if commercial rollout scales. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Options‑market flow has shown atypical activity, which some traders interpret as a bet on near‑term volatility — a signal worth monitoring but not a directional confirmation. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several brokers trimmed price targets (UBS 158→135, Argus 140→125, Leerink 119→106) but many maintained buy/overweight stances — reducing near‑term upside expectations while keeping medium‑term support intact. Article Title Article Title Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Social and news summaries flagged that Q1 results beat estimates but management cut full‑year guidance (mild flu season, acquisition costs), which drove the post‑earnings selloff and remains the primary driver of today’s weakness. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Headline commentary that Barclays has "lowered expectations" adds to investor caution; cumulative PT trims and the guidance cut have weighed on sentiment and liquidity. Article Title

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 885 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.58, for a total transaction of $102,288.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 146,377 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,918,253.66. The trade was a 0.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Daniel J. Starks purchased 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $108.73 per share, with a total value of $1,087,300.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 6,738,817 shares in the company, valued at $732,711,572.41. This represents a 0.15% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 3,055 shares of company stock worth $353,097 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $122.00 to $109.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 17th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $137.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $115.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Two investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $119.43.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ABT opened at $92.83 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $161.67 billion, a PE ratio of 26.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.18. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $107.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $118.00. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $92.65 and a fifty-two week high of $139.06.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $11.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.99 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 17.71% and a net margin of 13.90%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.09 EPS. 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. As a group, equities analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is 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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