Aspen Investment Management Inc Boosts Stock Holdings in Abbott Laboratories $ABT

Aspen Investment Management Inc raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 131.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,258 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,520 shares during the period. Aspen Investment Management Inc’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,661,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 175,556,716 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $21,995,501,000 after purchasing an additional 2,402,408 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 2.5% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 61,614,739 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $8,251,974,000 after acquiring an additional 1,478,076 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 51.0% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 13,951,907 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,868,718,000 after acquiring an additional 4,713,135 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 3.8% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 13,500,829 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,804,050,000 after acquiring an additional 499,351 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 7.2% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 12,900,318 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,727,869,000 after acquiring an additional 864,531 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABT opened at $88.38 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $97.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $112.47. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $81.97 and a twelve month high of $139.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $153.93 billion, a PE ratio of 24.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.65.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $10.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.09 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter 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. Equities research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.48 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th were paid a dividend of $0.63 per share. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is presently 70.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $115.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 17th. Daiwa Securities Group lowered shares of Abbott Laboratories from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $92.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $108.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $119.43.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, CFO Philip P. Boudreau acquired 2,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $91.50 per share, with a total value of $201,300.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 2,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $201,300. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Eric Shroff sold 709 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.58, for a total value of $81,946.22. Following the sale, the senior vice president 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 ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 3,055 shares of company stock valued at $353,097 over the last three months. 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.