Abbott Laboratories $ABT Shares Purchased by Vertex Planning Partners LLC

Vertex Planning Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 3.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,293 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the period. Vertex Planning Partners LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $967,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ABT. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Abound Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Elequin Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter worth $30,000. Wormser Freres Gestion acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:ABT opened at $131.1940 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $228.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.70. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $131.28 and its 200-day moving average is $131.24. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $110.33 and a 52-week high of $141.23. 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 (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.26. The company had revenue of $11.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.01 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 18.32% and a net margin of 32.43%.The firm’s revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.14 earnings per share. Abbott Laboratories has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.100-5.200 EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at 1.280-1.320 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th were given a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.57%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Philip P. Boudreau sold 5,550 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.55, for a total value of $746,752.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 51,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,862,453.65. This trade represents a 9.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on ABT shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $127.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. BTIG Research dropped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $148.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $147.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 18th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $144.47.

About Abbott Laboratories

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.