Abbott Laboratories $ABT Stock Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,701,859 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 223,875 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $365,855,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of ABT. BlackRock Inc. raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 4.6% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 152,563,476 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $13,843,610,000 after acquiring an additional 6,769,518 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.7% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 80,926,234 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $7,343,246,000 after acquiring an additional 1,350,766 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,603,607,000. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 18.6% in the 2nd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 16,706,669 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,515,963,000 after purchasing an additional 2,614,965 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,082,524,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on ABT shares. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Barclays began coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $120.00 target price on the stock. Argus cut shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 24th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $118.32.

More Abbott Laboratories News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Abbott began the pivotal CROWN-MV trial for its investigational Cephea Mitral Valve System, designed as a minimally invasive treatment for symptomatic mitral valve disease patients who are ineligible for surgery or transcatheter repair. Successful development could expand Abbott’s structural-heart portfolio, although the device remains investigational and carries clinical and regulatory risk. Abbott initiates pivotal trial for Cephea device
• Positive Sentiment: Industry reports forecast strong expansion in point-of-care diagnostics across South and Central America and continued growth in home INR monitoring. Abbott is listed among the key suppliers, suggesting potential long-term opportunities for its diagnostics business through testing volume, instruments and recurring consumables. South and Central America point-of-care diagnostics market Point-of-care INR testing market
• Neutral Sentiment: Discussion of Abbott’s approaching breakup highlights the potential for value creation through separating businesses, but also raises questions about execution, valuation and how costs and growth prospects will be allocated among the resulting companies. Can Abbott Laboratories Stay Reasonable As Its Breakup Nears?
• Negative Sentiment: Dexcom exceeded expectations and raised guidance, underscoring robust demand for continuous glucose-monitoring wearables but also intensifying competitive pressure on Abbott’s FreeStyle Libre franchise. Stronger execution by Dexcom could weigh on expectations for Abbott’s diabetes-care growth. Dexcom shakes off Abbott-tied malaise
• Negative Sentiment: Argus downgraded Abbott Laboratories, adding a near-term valuation and analyst-sentiment headwind. Abbott Laboratories stock gets downgrade from Argus

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $106.33 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $104.36 and a 200-day moving average of $102.06. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $81.97 and a 1 year high of $132.02. 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 company has a market capitalization of $183.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.59.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The healthcare product maker reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 9.75% and a return on equity of 17.97%. The business had revenue of $13.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.30 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 15th will be issued a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 94.03%.

Abbott Laboratories Company Profile

Abbott Laboratories is a global healthcare company that develops, manufactures and markets a broad range of medical products and services. Founded in 1888 by Wallace C. Abbott, the company is headquartered in Abbott Park, Illinois, and serves patients, healthcare providers and consumers in markets around the world.

Abbott operates across four principal businesses: medical devices, diagnostics, nutrition and established pharmaceutical products. Its offerings include glucose-monitoring systems such as FreeStyle Libre; cardiovascular devices, including stents and structural heart products; laboratory and point-of-care diagnostic systems; and branded generic medicines in areas such as gastroenterology, women’s health and cardiometabolic care.

The company’s nutrition portfolio includes infant and pediatric products such as Similac and PediaSure, adult nutritional products such as Ensure, and rehydration products such as Pedialyte.