Novem Group lessened its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT – Free Report) by 61.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,126 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 6,599 shares during the period. Novem Group’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $517,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital International Investors grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 61,614,739 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $8,251,974,000 after acquiring an additional 1,478,076 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.8% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 15,096,907 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,022,080,000 after acquiring an additional 821,325 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 51.0% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 13,951,907 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,868,718,000 after purchasing an additional 4,713,135 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 3.8% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 13,500,829 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,804,050,000 after purchasing an additional 499,351 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 12,900,318 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,727,869,000 after purchasing an additional 864,531 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Key Headlines Impacting Abbott Laboratories
Here are the key news stories impacting Abbott Laboratories this week:
- Positive Sentiment: UBS kept a “buy” rating on ABT, signaling continued conviction in Abbott’s franchise despite trimming its price target — a vote of confidence from a major bank. UBS Sticks to Their Buy Rating for Abbott Laboratories (ABT)
- Positive Sentiment: Income-minded investors are seeing value: recent coverage highlights a dividend yield near 3% and labels ABT a “dividend king” opportunity for buy-the-dip investors. That supports demand from yield-focused funds. Abbott Laboratories Just Got Interesting: Dividend Yield Near 3% Signals Opportunity
- Positive Sentiment: Progress on Abbott’s CancerGuard multi-cancer early-detection program and new DETECT A outcomes reinforce the company’s long-term diagnostics growth narrative. Positive clinical/award news can support upside over time. Abbott’s CancerGuard Progress Adds New Dimension To Diagnostics Growth Story
- Neutral Sentiment: Options-market activity is drawing attention; spikes in put/call flows can foreshadow moves but aren’t a directional confirmation by themselves. Traders may use this as a signal for volatility, not fundamentals. Is the Options Market Predicting a Spike in Abbott Laboratories Stock?
- Neutral Sentiment: Coverage notes that ABT is trading near its 52-week low while many analysts remain bullish — an outlook that supports buy-side interest if sentiment stabilizes. Wall Street Refuses to Blink: 2 Healthcare Stocks at 52-Week Lows That Analysts Still Love
- Negative Sentiment: Major banks collectively trimmed price targets (multiple firm actions published), creating downward pressure on the stock as headline PT cuts refresh sell-side valuation estimates. This broad re-rating is a primary driver of today’s weakness. Mizuho Cuts Abbott Laboratories Price Target
- Negative Sentiment: UBS and Argus lowered their targets (UBS to $135; Argus to $125) even while keeping buy ratings — a mixed signal that reduces near-term upside expectations vs. prior levels. UBS Adjusts Abbott Laboratories Price Target to $135
- Negative Sentiment: Social and analyst chatter highlights that Q1 results beat estimates but management trimmed full-year guidance (diagnostics headwinds, mild flu season, acquisition costs), which triggered post-earnings selling and still weighs on sentiment. Abbott Laboratories Stock Opinions on Q1 Earnings and Guidance Cut
Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 3.3%
Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.01. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 17.71% and a net margin of 13.90%.The firm had revenue of $11.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.09 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. 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. As a group, analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be issued a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 70.59%.
Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories
In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 885 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.58, for a total value of $102,288.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 146,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,918,253.66. The trade was a 0.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Eric Shroff sold 709 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.58, for a total value of $81,946.22. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 39,164 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,526,575.12. The trade was a 1.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,055 shares of company stock worth $353,097. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several equities research analysts have weighed in on ABT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 17th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $115.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $120.35.
Read Our Latest Research Report on Abbott Laboratories
Abbott Laboratories 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.
Further Reading
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