Welch Group LLC Lowers Stake in Abbott Laboratories $ABT

Key Points

• Welch Group LLC cut its Abbott Laboratories stake by 82.6% in the second quarter, selling 73,469 shares and retaining 15,522 shares valued at approximately $1.4 million. Institutional investors still own 75.18% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $118.67; Wolfe Research upgraded the stock to “Outperform” with a $130 target.
• Abbott agreed to pay approximately $670 million to settle part of its infant-formula litigation, creating a significant cash and earnings cost while leaving some potential claims unresolved.

Welch Group LLC lessened its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 82.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,522 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 73,469 shares during the period. Welch Group LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,408,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC now owns 55,947 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $5,077,000 after buying an additional 1,575 shares during the period. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter worth approximately $74,000. Capstone Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter valued at approximately $521,000. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.6% in the second quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 28,684 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $2,603,000 after purchasing an additional 451 shares during the period. Finally, Financial & Tax Architects LLC grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 25.3% in the second quarter. Financial & Tax Architects LLC now owns 80,248 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $7,282,000 after purchasing an additional 16,198 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised Abbott Laboratories from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Wolfe Research upgraded Abbott Laboratories from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $130.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. BTIG Research increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $131.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $109.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $118.67.

Key Abbott Laboratories News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Abbott’s Instinct continuous glucose sensor is now commercially shipping in the U.S. integrated with MiniMed’s Flex automated insulin-delivery system. The partnership expands Abbott’s presence in diabetes technology and could support sensor adoption and recurring revenue. MiniMed Ships MiniMed Flex With Abbott's Smallest Instinct Sensor
• Positive Sentiment: Abbott also entered a multiyear agreement with HealthTab to distribute its Afinion 2 point-of-care analyzers through NHS-linked pharmacies in the United Kingdom. The deal may broaden access to Abbott’s HbA1c and lipid-testing products, although financial details were not disclosed. HealthTab Enters Multi-Year Collaboration Agreement with Abbott
• Neutral Sentiment: Abbott agreed to pay approximately $670 million to resolve the Gill case and claims from roughly 2,000 individuals involving specialty formulas for premature infants. The settlement resolves a portion of the litigation, including the appeal of a prior $495 million verdict, reducing uncertainty and potentially avoiding additional legal costs. Abbott denied that its products cause necrotizing enterocolitis and said regulators and medical professionals consider the formulas safe and necessary. Abbott agrees to $670 million settlement of infant formula cases
• Negative Sentiment: The settlement represents a significant cash and earnings cost and does not resolve all potential litigation related to the infant formulas. Investors may continue to assess the scope of remaining claims and the effect on Abbott’s legal reserves and profitability. Abbott reaches agreements to resolve a portion of litigation involving its specialty formulas

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

ABT opened at $116.62 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $201.80 billion, a PE ratio of 37.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The business's 50-day moving average is $100.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $100.05. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $81.97 and a 1 year high of $137.49.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $12.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.52 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 11.65% and a return on equity of 17.69%. Abbott Laboratories's revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.26 earnings per share. Abbott Laboratories has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.380-1.46 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 5.450-5.60 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 15th were issued a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is currently 81.55%.

About Abbott Laboratories

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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