Hartford Financial Management Inc. Reduces Position in Abbott Laboratories $ABT

Hartford Financial Management Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 31.0% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 16,352 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 7,339 shares during the period. Hartford Financial Management Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,484,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Nia Impact Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.2% in the second quarter. Nia Impact Advisors LLC now owns 3,706 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $504,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 9.3% during the 2nd quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 1,031 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $140,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Eley Financial Management Inc increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Eley Financial Management Inc now owns 10,817 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,355,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. Copley Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Copley Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,435 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $556,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kelleher Financial Advisors increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 2.9% during the third quarter. Kelleher Financial Advisors now owns 3,301 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $442,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of ABT stock opened at $116.62 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $81.97 and a 12-month high of $137.49. The business’s 50 day moving average is $100.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $100.05. The company has a market capitalization of $201.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.59.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.03. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 11.65% and a return on equity of 17.69%. The company had revenue of $12.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.26 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. Abbott Laboratories has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.380-1.46 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 5.450-5.60 EPS. Analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 15th were paid a dividend of $0.63 per share. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 81.55%.

Abbott Laboratories News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Abbott’s Instinct continuous glucose sensor is now commercially shipping in the U.S. integrated with MiniMed’s Flex automated insulin-delivery system. The partnership expands Abbott’s presence in diabetes technology and could support sensor adoption and recurring revenue. MiniMed Ships MiniMed Flex With Abbott’s Smallest Instinct Sensor
• Positive Sentiment: Abbott also entered a multiyear agreement with HealthTab to distribute its Afinion 2 point-of-care analyzers through NHS-linked pharmacies in the United Kingdom. The deal may broaden access to Abbott’s HbA1c and lipid-testing products, although financial details were not disclosed. HealthTab Enters Multi-Year Collaboration Agreement with Abbott
• Neutral Sentiment: Abbott agreed to pay approximately $670 million to resolve the Gill case and claims from roughly 2,000 individuals involving specialty formulas for premature infants. The settlement resolves a portion of the litigation, including the appeal of a prior $495 million verdict, reducing uncertainty and potentially avoiding additional legal costs. Abbott denied that its products cause necrotizing enterocolitis and said regulators and medical professionals consider the formulas safe and necessary. Abbott agrees to $670 million settlement of infant formula cases
• Negative Sentiment: The settlement represents a significant cash and earnings cost and does not resolve all potential litigation related to the infant formulas. Investors may continue to assess the scope of remaining claims and the effect on Abbott’s legal reserves and profitability. Abbott reaches agreements to resolve a portion of litigation involving its specialty formulas

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $121.00 to $113.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Abbott Laboratories from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $118.67.

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.