Scholtz & Company LLC Cuts Position in Abbott Laboratories $ABT

Scholtz & Company LLC lessened its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,633 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 735 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories comprises about 2.8% of Scholtz & Company LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Scholtz & Company LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $6,343,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 169,823,136 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $22,527,039,000 after purchasing an additional 1,177,739 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $3,948,117,000 after purchasing an additional 3,371,113 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $2,120,516,000 after purchasing an additional 3,616,471 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $1,916,966,000 after purchasing an additional 1,639,954 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.3% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,108,416 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,738,831,000 after purchasing an additional 168,095 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

NYSE:ABT opened at $124.62 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $216.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.62, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.69. The company’s 50-day moving average is $131.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $131.59. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $110.86 and a 1-year high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.30. The company had revenue of $11.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.40 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.88% and a return on equity of 17.78%. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.21 EPS. Abbott Laboratories has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.120-5.180 EPS. Analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 15th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is presently 29.57%.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, CFO Philip P. Boudreau sold 5,550 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 51,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,862,453.65. This represents a 9.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on ABT shares. Benchmark started coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Friday, October 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $145.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $153.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $149.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $142.00 to $146.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $147.00.

Abbott Laboratories 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.