Mufg Securities Americas Inc. Increases Position in Abbott Laboratories $ABT

Mufg Securities Americas Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 21.7% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 46,934 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,374 shares during the period. Mufg Securities Americas Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $6,286,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ABT. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 51,719 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $5,850,000 after acquiring an additional 4,755 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,768 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $648,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. United Bank increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 29,004 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $3,945,000 after purchasing an additional 2,001 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 32.7% in the second quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 641 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $87,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Solstein Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 184.7% in the second quarter. Solstein Capital LLC now owns 464 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Acquisition strategy could expand diagnostics/oncology exposure — Abbott announced plans tied to acquiring Exact Sciences and market commentary highlights the strategic upside of bolstering cancer‑screening capabilities. QuiverQuant: Acquisition discussion
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend maintained — Abbott declared a quarterly dividend ($0.63/share, ex‑date April 15), supporting income investors and signaling cash‑flow confidence. (Company release)
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst backing and price targets — Several firms maintain buy/overweight ratings and median targets (~$140), providing upside vs. the current trading level and helping buyer confidence. QuiverQuant: Analyst ratings and targets
• Neutral Sentiment: Q4 results were mixed — EPS matched consensus ($1.50) but revenue modestly missed estimates; management gave Q1 and FY 2026 EPS ranges that investors are parsing for cadence of recovery. Zacks: Q4 recap
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation debate amid recent weakness — Commentary examines whether recent share weakness makes ABT attractive or merely fairly valued given sector headwinds; this frames some buying interest. Yahoo: Valuation piece
• Negative Sentiment: Big bond sale to fund Exact Sciences deal raises leverage concerns — Abbott’s planned ~$20B bond issuance to finance the acquisition has prompted debate over increased debt in a tighter rate environment. QuiverQuant: Bond financing discussion
• Negative Sentiment: Product‑liability lawsuit involving FreeStyle Libre 3 — A wrongful‑death suit alleges defects in Libre 3 systems, naming Abbott and raising regulatory, safety and potential litigation cost risks. This is a material legal overhang to monitor. Yahoo: Wrongful‑death lawsuit

Analyst Ratings Changes

ABT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $150.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Raymond James Financial reduced their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $154.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $152.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $137.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Daniel J. Starks purchased 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $108.73 per share, with a total value of $1,087,300.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 6,738,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $732,711,572.41. This trade represents a 0.15% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 2.6%

ABT stock opened at $115.14 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $118.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $125.68. The company has a market cap of $200.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.75. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $105.27 and a fifty-two week high of $141.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.70.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.50. The firm had revenue of $11.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.80 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 14.72% and a return on equity of 17.94%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.34 EPS. 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. As a group, analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is presently 67.74%.

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.