ING Groep NV Boosts Holdings in Abbott Laboratories $ABT

ING Groep NV raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 25.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 595,441 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 122,063 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $74,603,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Bridge Generations Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ABT opened at $91.20 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $92.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $109.31. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $81.97 and a 1 year high of $139.06. The company has a market capitalization of $158.85 billion, a PE ratio of 25.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.39.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.01. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.90% and a return on equity of 17.62%. The firm had revenue of $11.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.09 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. On average, research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Evercore cut their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $134.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 17th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $131.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $115.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $122.00 to $109.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group lowered shares of Abbott Laboratories from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $92.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $119.09.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Philip P. Boudreau purchased 2,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $91.50 per share, with a total value of $201,300.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer owned 2,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $201,300. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Daniel J. Starks purchased 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $92.65 per share, for a total transaction of $926,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 6,751,103 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $625,489,692.95. This represents a 0.15% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

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.