Ascent Group LLC Has $4.25 Million Position in Abbott Laboratories $ABT

Ascent Group LLC cut its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 31,278 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 1,001 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $4,254,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ABT. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Abound Financial LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Elequin Capital LP acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. JCIC Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 1.1%

NYSE:ABT opened at $134.49 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $131.94 and its 200-day moving average is $131.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.82. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $110.86 and a 52 week high of $141.23. The firm has a market cap of $234.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.69.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 32.43% and a return on equity of 18.32%. The company had revenue of $11.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.14 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Abbott Laboratories has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.100-5.200 EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at 1.280-1.320 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 15th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.57%.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, CFO Philip P. Boudreau sold 5,550 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.55, for a total transaction of $746,752.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 51,003 shares in the company, valued at $6,862,453.65. The trade was a 9.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on ABT shares. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $143.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Leerink Partners started coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, June 16th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $143.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $142.00 to $141.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $153.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $145.39.

Abbott Laboratories Company Profile

Abbott Laboratories, together with its subsidiaries, discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells health care products worldwide. It operates in four segments: Established Pharmaceutical Products, Diagnostic Products, Nutritional Products, and Medical Devices. The company provides generic pharmaceuticals for the treatment of pancreatic exocrine insufficiency, irritable bowel syndrome or biliary spasm, intrahepatic cholestasis or depressive symptoms, gynecological disorder, hormone replacement therapy, dyslipidemia, hypertension, hypothyroidism, Ménière’s disease and vestibular vertigo, pain, fever, inflammation, and migraine, as well as provides anti-infective clarithromycin, influenza vaccine, and products to regulate physiological rhythm of the colon.