McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC Sells 6,533 Shares of Abbott Laboratories $ABT

McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 34.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 12,657 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 6,533 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories makes up 0.4% of McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,586,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.5% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 61,614,739 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $8,251,974,000 after buying an additional 1,478,076 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.8% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 15,096,907 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $2,022,080,000 after buying an additional 821,325 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 51.0% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 13,951,907 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,868,718,000 after purchasing an additional 4,713,135 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.8% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 13,500,829 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,804,050,000 after purchasing an additional 499,351 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 7.2% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 12,900,318 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,727,869,000 after purchasing an additional 864,531 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Key Abbott Laboratories News

Here are the key news stories impacting Abbott Laboratories this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Barclays raised its price target on ABT to $144 and keeps an “overweight” view, a bullish signal that likely helped buying interest. Abbott Laboratories price target raised by Barclays
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage highlighting Abbott as a “dividend king on sale” (value/dividend investors) increases interest from income-focused buyers given its long track record of payout consistency. A Dividend King on Sale: Is Abbott Labs a Healthcare Bargain?
• Neutral Sentiment: Several sell‑side analysts remain constructive (maintaining buy/outperform ratings) but trimmed targets modestly (Evercore to $134 from $138; BTIG similar), which is mixed news — keeps analyst support but reduces implied upside. Evercore ISI and BTIG Lower Abbott (ABT) Price Targets, Maintain Positive Ratings
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and media note the stock’s recent underperformance versus the broader market even as it edges up intraday — an important context for short‑term momentum traders. Abbott Laboratories stock rises Wednesday, still underperforms market
• Negative Sentiment: Goldman Sachs cut its price target sharply to $121 from $140 (still a “buy”), a downgrade in expectation that can pressure sentiment and cap near‑term gains. Goldman Sachs adjusts price target on Abbott Laboratories to $121 from $140; maintains buy rating
• Negative Sentiment: Analyses flag recent share weakness (down materially over the past 1–3 months) and fading momentum; fundamental concerns include a modest revenue shortfall in the last quarter despite EPS in line and only modest FY guidance — reasons some investors remain cautious. Assessing Abbott Laboratories (ABT) Valuation After Recent Share Price Weakness

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 885 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.58, for a total value of $102,288.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 146,377 shares in the company, valued at $16,918,253.66. The trade was a 0.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 585 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.58, for a total transaction of $67,614.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 24,628 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,846,504.24. The trade was a 2.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 3,055 shares of company stock valued at $353,097 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on ABT shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $142.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. BTIG Research reduced their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $131.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Evercore reduced their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $134.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $147.00 to $135.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Freedom Capital raised shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $134.58.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

ABT stock opened at $103.70 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $180.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.88, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $100.88 and a 12-month high of $139.06. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $109.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $120.35.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.50. The business had revenue of $11.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.80 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 14.72% and a return on equity of 17.73%. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.34 earnings per share. Abbott Laboratories has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.120-1.180 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 5.550-5.800 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be issued a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is presently 67.74%.

About Abbott Laboratories

Abbott Laboratories is a global healthcare company headquartered in Abbott Park, Illinois, that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of medical products and services. Founded in 1888, Abbott operates through multiple business areas that focus on diagnostics, medical devices, nutritionals and established pharmaceuticals. The company supplies hospitals, clinics, laboratories, retailers and direct-to-consumer channels with products intended to diagnose, treat and manage a wide range of health conditions.

In diagnostics, Abbott provides laboratory and point-of-care testing platforms and assays used to detect infectious diseases, chronic conditions and biomarkers; its Alinity family of instruments and rapid-test solutions are examples of this capability.