Abbott Laboratories $ABT Shares Sold by USS Investment Management Ltd

Key Points

• USS Investment Management Ltd reduced its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 22.2%, selling 82,052 shares in the first quarter, leaving it with shares worth $38.18 million.
• Analysts have mixed views on Abbott Laboratories, with recent upgrades from Jefferies Financial Group and William Blair, while Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo have adjusted their target prices, indicating a general consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".
• Abbott Laboratories reported quarterly earnings of $1.26 EPS, meeting analysts' expectations, with revenue of $11.14 billion reflecting a 7.4% year-over-year increase.

USS Investment Management Ltd reduced its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 22.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 287,834 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 82,052 shares during the period. USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $38,183,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ABT. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Elequin Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Wormser Freres Gestion purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $147.00 to $142.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 18th. BTIG Research cut their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $148.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 18th. William Blair upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $143.00 to $145.00 in a report on Friday, July 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $144.47.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of NYSE ABT traded down $2.56 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $129.39. 7,392,932 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,688,948. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $130.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $131.36. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $110.86 and a one year high of $141.23. The company has a market cap of $225.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.69.

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 for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.26. The company had revenue of $11.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.01 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 32.43% and a return on equity of 18.32%. Abbott Laboratories's revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm 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. On average, analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, CFO Philip P. Boudreau sold 5,550 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 owned 51,003 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,862,453.65. The trade was a 9.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.46% of the stock is owned by company 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.