Fluent Financial LLC Purchases 9,723 Shares of Abbott Laboratories $ABT

Fluent Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 43.8% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 31,940 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,723 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories accounts for 1.8% of Fluent Financial LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Fluent Financial LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $4,344,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 10.9% during the 2nd quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 5,009 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $681,000 after purchasing an additional 494 shares during the last quarter. Narwhal Capital Management grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 9.2% during the second quarter. Narwhal Capital Management now owns 65,569 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $8,918,000 after purchasing an additional 5,514 shares during the period. Morton Capital Management LLC CA raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 42.1% in the second quarter. Morton Capital Management LLC CA now owns 3,113 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $423,000 after buying an additional 922 shares during the period. Valmark Advisers Inc. lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 4.8% in the second quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 17,911 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,436,000 after buying an additional 818 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Financial Advisors Inc lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 10.8% in the second quarter. Northern Financial Advisors Inc now owns 1,914 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $260,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of ABT opened at $134.45 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $110.86 and a 12 month high of $141.23. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $132.30 and its 200-day moving average is $131.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $234.00 billion, a PE ratio of 16.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.69.

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, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26. The business 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 quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior 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 forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on ABT shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $127.00 to $137.00 and gave the company 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 report on Friday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $147.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $146.24.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories 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 transaction of $746,752.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 51,003 shares in the company, valued at $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 the SEC website. 0.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.