Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI Buys 1,096,514 Shares of Abbott Laboratories $ABT

Key Points

• Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI significantly increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 5,771.1%, acquiring over 1 million additional shares, making Abbott roughly 1.2% of its total holdings.
• In the most recent financial quarter, Abbott Laboratories reported $1.26 earnings per share, which met analysts' expectations, along with a revenue of $11.14 billion, surpassing estimates.
• Abbott Laboratories recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.59 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 1.8% and a payout ratio of 29.57%.

Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 5,771.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,115,514 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after purchasing an additional 1,096,514 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories makes up 1.2% of Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI's portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI owned approximately 0.06% of Abbott Laboratories worth $147,973,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 51,719 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $5,850,000 after acquiring an additional 4,755 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 152,719 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $17,274,000 after acquiring an additional 2,774 shares during the last quarter. Lionshead Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth $327,000. LRI Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 3,354 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $379,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MJP Associates Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV now owns 2,367 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $268,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Abbott Laboratories news, CFO Philip P. Boudreau sold 5,550 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.55, for a total value of $746,752.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 51,003 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,862,453.65. This represents a 9.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

ABT stock traded up $1.27 during trading on Friday, reaching $133.92. The stock had a trading volume of 5,700,290 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,620,438. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $110.86 and a 52 week high of $141.23. The stock's 50 day moving average is $130.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $131.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The firm has a market cap of $233.08 billion, a PE ratio of 16.78, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.69.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $11.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.14 earnings per share. Abbott Laboratories's revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. 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 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on ABT shares. Leerink Partners started coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, June 16th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $143.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James Financial dropped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $142.00 to $141.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Abbott Laboratories from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $143.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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 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 MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $144.47.

Abbott Laboratories Company 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.