Aberdeen Group plc Sells 49,223 Shares of Abbott Laboratories $ABT

Aberdeen Group plc reduced its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 2.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,969,719 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 49,223 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc owned approximately 0.11% of Abbott Laboratories worth $262,051,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter valued at $3,026,180,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 13,347.0% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,056,934 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $823,804,000 after acquiring an additional 6,011,891 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.8% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 172,800,851 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $23,502,644,000 after purchasing an additional 2,977,715 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 180.7% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,063,443 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $416,659,000 after purchasing an additional 1,972,097 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 3.8% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 38,293,067 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $5,184,589,000 after purchasing an additional 1,390,554 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $112.63 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The stock has a market cap of $195.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.28, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.75. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $105.27 and a 1 year high of $141.23. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $119.48 and its 200 day moving average is $126.40.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.50. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 17.94% and a net margin of 14.72%.The firm had revenue of $11.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.34 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Abbott Laboratories has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.120-1.180 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 5.550-5.800 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 15th were issued a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 15th. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. This is a positive change from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 67.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABT has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $150.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $154.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $132.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $147.00 to $135.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $137.05.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Daniel J. Starks acquired 10,000 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $108.73 per share, with a total value of $1,087,300.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 6,738,817 shares in the company, valued at approximately $732,711,572.41. This trade represents a 0.15% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

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.