Argus Investors Counsel Inc. Reduces Holdings in Abbott Laboratories $ABT

Argus Investors Counsel Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 11.4% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 5,796 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 745 shares during the period. Argus Investors Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $788,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Elequin Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. JCIC Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE:ABT opened at $133.62 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $232.56 billion, a PE ratio of 16.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.82 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $131.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $131.15. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $110.86 and a fifty-two week high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted 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. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 18.32% and a net margin of 32.43%.The business had revenue of $11.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.14 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Abbott Laboratories has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.100-5.200 EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at 1.280-1.320 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on ABT shares. Leerink Partners assumed coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, June 16th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $143.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley raised 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 decreased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $148.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $145.22.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, CFO Philip P. Boudreau sold 5,550 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 51,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,862,453.65. This represents a 9.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

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.