Abbott Laboratories $ABT Shares Purchased by Rathbones Group PLC

Rathbones Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 4.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,008,738 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 132,256 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories comprises about 1.6% of Rathbones Group PLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Rathbones Group PLC owned approximately 0.17% of Abbott Laboratories worth $402,990,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Carr Financial Group Corp raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Carr Financial Group Corp now owns 3,880 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $520,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 10.7% in the second quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 795 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $108,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Gemmer Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Gemmer Asset Management LLC now owns 2,750 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $368,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 3.3% during the third quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC now owns 2,469 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $331,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citizens & Northern Corp increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% in the third quarter. Citizens & Northern Corp now owns 21,875 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $2,930,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

ABT stock opened at $109.74 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The company has a market capitalization of $190.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.74. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $105.27 and a 12 month high of $139.15. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $116.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $124.63.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced 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. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 17.73% and a net margin of 14.72%.The company had revenue of $11.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.80 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.34 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. 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, equities analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be given a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 67.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $132.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $152.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $169.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $137.05.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Eric Shroff sold 709 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.58, for a total transaction of $81,946.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 39,164 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,526,575.12. This trade represents a 1.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Daniel J. Starks purchased 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $108.73 per share, with a total value of $1,087,300.00. Following the purchase, 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 ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 3,055 shares of company stock worth $353,097. Corporate 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.