Wealth Enhancement Trust Services Inc. Buys New Shares in Abbott Laboratories $ABT

Key Points

• Wealth Enhancement Trust Services initiated a new position in Abbott Laboratories (ABT), buying 24,722 shares worth roughly $3.10 million in the fourth quarter.
• Abbott reported Q1 EPS of $1.15 (vs. $1.14 est.) and revenue of $11.16B (vs. $10.99B) but set FY‑2026 guidance of $5.38–$5.58 and Q2 guide of $1.25–$1.31 that include about $0.20 of dilution from the Exact Sciences acquisition, prompting near‑term stock weakness over margin and Nutrition concerns.
• Several brokers have cut price targets after the quarter (e.g., Benchmark, Citi, RBC), yet the street consensus remains a Moderate Buy with an average price target around $121.00.

Wealth Enhancement Trust Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 24,722 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock, valued at approximately $3,097,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 51,719 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $5,850,000 after acquiring an additional 4,755 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.5% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,768 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $648,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. United Bank boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 7.4% in the second quarter. United Bank now owns 29,004 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $3,945,000 after purchasing an additional 2,001 shares during the last quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 13.6% during the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 11,894 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $1,618,000 after purchasing an additional 1,428 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 25.6% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,435,683 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $195,267,000 after buying an additional 292,547 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Benchmark dropped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Barclays boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $142.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $108.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $121.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Mary K. Moreland sold 613 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.58, for a total value of $70,850.54. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 104,291 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,053,953.78. The trade was a 0.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 585 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.58, for a total value of $67,614.30. Following the sale, the vice president owned 24,628 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,846,504.24. The trade was a 2.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,055 shares of company stock valued at $353,097. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Key Abbott Laboratories News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Preliminary settlement reached in six shareholder derivative suits tied to Abbott’s U.S. infant‑formula business, reducing litigation overhang for investors. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: New data on Cancerguard MCED (multi‑cancer early detection) presented at AACR 2026 — important for Abbott’s growth thesis since the Exact Sciences deal expanded its oncology diagnostics exposure. Continued clinical progress supports longer‑term revenue upside. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Insiders added roughly $3.1M of stock, and a number of analysts still see upside — some calling the post‑acquisition pullback a buying opportunity given valuation and Abbott’s dividend track record. Read More. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Q1 results: adjusted EPS $1.15 (vs. $1.14 est.) and revenue $11.16B (vs. $10.99B); company set FY 2026 adjusted EPS guidance to $5.38–$5.58 and Q2 guide to $1.25–$1.31, explicitly including ~$0.20 of dilution from the Exact Sciences acquisition. Investors are parsing beat vs. the guidance change. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call transcript and analyst commentary emphasize medical‑device strength offset by Diagnostics/Nutrition softness and acquisition-related margin pressure — useful for active traders but mixed for near‑term stock direction. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction: shares fell after the print because Abbott trimmed guidance and flagged Nutrition weakness and margin compression; coverage shows the takeover (≈$21–23B) is dilutive near term. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Many brokers lowered price targets and some cut forecasts following Q1/guidance — several firms kept positive ratings but reduced targets (examples include RBC, Jefferies, Raymond James, Citi and others), amplifying short‑term selling pressure. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst notes and headlines highlighted the EPS guidance cut and Nutrition slump as primary reasons for the earlier drop — these remain catalysts to watch for the next quarter. Read More.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

ABT opened at $96.89 on Friday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $107.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $118.65. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $93.92 and a 52-week high of $139.06. The company has a market cap of $168.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.14, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $11.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.99 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.90% and a return on equity of 17.71%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.09 earnings per share. 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. Equities analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders 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 2.6%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is presently 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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