VCI Wealth Management LLC Acquires 7,557 Shares of Abbott Laboratories $ABT

VCI Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 65.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 19,128 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 7,557 shares during the quarter. VCI Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,964,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Purpose Unlimited Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Portfolio Resources Advisor Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Abound Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ABT. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Daiwa Securities Group cut shares of Abbott Laboratories from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $92.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Evercore lowered their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $134.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $118.30.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

ABT opened at $94.02 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $81.97 and a 12-month high of $137.49. The business has a 50 day moving average of $89.08 and a 200-day moving average of $105.38. The stock has a market cap of $163.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.34, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.63.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.01. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 17.62% and a net margin of 13.90%.The business had revenue of $11.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.09 EPS. The firm’s revenue 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. On average, equities research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 15th will be given a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 70.59%.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, CFO Philip P. Boudreau bought 2,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $91.50 per share, for a total transaction of $201,300.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 2,200 shares in the company, valued at $201,300. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Daniel J. Starks purchased 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The stock was bought at an average price of $92.65 per share, for a total transaction of $926,500.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 6,751,103 shares in the company, valued at $625,489,692.95. The trade was a 0.15% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Company 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.