Erste Asset Management GmbH Acquires 373,560 Shares of Abbott Laboratories $ABT

Erste Asset Management GmbH grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 32.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,510,824 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 373,560 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories makes up 1.6% of Erste Asset Management GmbH’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Erste Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $188,898,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of ABT. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 175,556,716 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $21,995,501,000 after acquiring an additional 2,402,408 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 63,229,445 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $7,922,519,000 after acquiring an additional 1,614,706 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 39,169,239 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $4,907,523,000 after acquiring an additional 400,400 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,938,892,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 51.0% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 13,951,907 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,868,718,000 after acquiring an additional 4,713,135 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Abbott Laboratories news, CFO Philip P. Boudreau bought 2,200 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $91.50 per share, for a total transaction of $201,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 2,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $201,300. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Daniel J. Starks bought 10,000 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $92.65 per share, with a total value of $926,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,751,103 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $625,489,692.95. The trade was a 0.15% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on ABT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $123.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 17th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $131.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $122.00 to $109.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Benchmark dropped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $119.09.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 0.1%

ABT stock opened at $91.20 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $92.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $109.16. The company has a market capitalization of $158.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.01. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $81.97 and a 12 month high of $139.06.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $11.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.99 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.90% and a return on equity of 17.62%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.09 EPS. Abbott Laboratories has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.380-5.580 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 1.250-1.310 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Profile

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.