Ameriflex Group Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories $ABT

Ameriflex Group Inc. lessened its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 44.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,610 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 2,089 shares during the period. Ameriflex Group Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $349,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,658,180,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 29.2% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 15,985,797 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,120,516,000 after acquiring an additional 3,616,471 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 12.8% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 29,763,415 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $3,948,117,000 after acquiring an additional 3,371,113 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 12.8% during the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 14,451,305 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,916,966,000 after acquiring an additional 1,639,954 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jensen Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 1,221.2% during the first quarter. Jensen Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,365,785 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $181,171,000 after acquiring an additional 1,262,407 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ABT opened at $134.49 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $131.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $131.33. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $110.86 and a 1 year high of $141.23. The company has a market capitalization of $234.07 billion, a PE ratio of 16.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.69. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 32.43% and a return on equity of 18.32%. The firm had revenue of $11.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $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. On average, research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on ABT shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $143.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $147.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Leerink Partners started coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, June 16th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $143.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, BTIG Research cut 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 note on Friday, July 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $145.39.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

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

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.