Abbott Laboratories $ABT Shares Purchased by Banque Cantonale Vaudoise

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 6.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 96,352 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 5,753 shares during the quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $12,071,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,059,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 25.4% during the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 1,870 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $234,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. now owns 481,458 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $60,322,000 after buying an additional 24,559 shares during the period. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at $2,054,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,663,821 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $584,330,000 after buying an additional 83,377 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $88.81 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $81.97 and a 52-week high of $139.06. The company has a market capitalization of $154.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a 50 day moving average of $98.14 and a 200 day moving average of $112.73.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its earnings results 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. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 17.62% and a net margin of 13.90%.The firm had revenue of $11.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.09 earnings per share. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. 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, research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 15th were given a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 70.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on ABT. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Raymond James Financial cut their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $115.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Leerink Partners decreased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $106.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $108.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $119.43.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Mary K. Moreland sold 613 shares of the company’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 $70,850.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 104,291 shares in the company, valued at $12,053,953.78. This represents a 0.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Philip P. Boudreau bought 2,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $91.50 per share, for a total transaction of $201,300.00. Following 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 position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 3,055 shares of company stock valued at $353,097 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

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.