West Family Investments Inc. Grows Stake in Abbott Laboratories $ABT

West Family Investments Inc. raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 286.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,104 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 6,005 shares during the quarter. West Family Investments Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $735,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Purpose Unlimited Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Portfolio Resources Advisor Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Abound Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

NYSE:ABT traded down $2.67 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $105.66. The company had a trading volume of 11,397,135 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,627,073. The firm has a market cap of $182.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.19, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $105.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $99.95. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $81.97 and a 52 week high of $137.49.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.03. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 17.69% and a net margin of 11.65%.The business had revenue of $12.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.52 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.26 earnings per share. The business’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. On average, analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.52 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 15th were given a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on ABT shares. Wolfe Research raised Abbott Laboratories from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $130.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Robert W. Baird started coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $121.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $109.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $119.50.

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.