Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd grew its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT – Free Report) by 7.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 360,483 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 24,455 shares during the quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $45,165,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted 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 purchasing an additional 2,402,408 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 61,614,739 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $8,251,974,000 after purchasing an additional 1,478,076 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.8% during the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 821,325 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted 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 purchasing an additional 4,713,135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.8% during the 3rd 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. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
More Abbott Laboratories News
Here are the key news stories impacting Abbott Laboratories this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Abbott’s Medical Devices segment delivered 8.5% Q1 growth, with electrophysiology, rhythm management, and heart failure products driving gains. That reinforces the company’s long-term growth story and suggests its device portfolio remains a key catalyst for ABT. Abbott’s Medical Device Strategy Supports Long-Term Growth Outlook
- Positive Sentiment: Wall Street analysts remain bullish on Abbott Laboratories despite its recent underperformance versus the broader market, which can help cushion sentiment around the stock. Abbott Laboratories Stock: Analyst Estimates & Ratings
- Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo reaffirmed its Buy rating on ABT, adding to the view that analysts still see upside potential despite near-term weakness. Wells Fargo Reaffirms Their Buy Rating on Abbott Laboratories (ABT)
- Neutral Sentiment: Erste Group Bank slightly lowered its FY2026 EPS estimate for Abbott to $5.47 from $5.48, which is only a minor change and close to consensus, so the impact looks limited. Abbott Laboratories news item referencing Erste Group Bank estimate reduction
- Negative Sentiment: ABT has underperformed over the past year, and recent share-price weakness has kept investors focused on whether the stock is now cheap rather than on a strong near-term rebound. Is Abbott Laboratories (ABT) Now Offering Value After Recent Share Price Weakness?
Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 0.1%
Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $11.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.99 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 17.62% and a net margin of 13.90%.The company’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.09 earnings per share. 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. On average, research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be issued a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.59%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings cut Abbott Laboratories from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Argus reduced their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $150.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Two equities research 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $119.43.
Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on Abbott Laboratories
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, SVP Eric Shroff sold 709 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 $81,946.22. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 39,164 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,526,575.12. This represents a 1.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mary K. Moreland sold 613 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.58, for a total transaction of $70,850.54. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 104,291 shares in the company, valued at $12,053,953.78. The trade was a 0.58% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,055 shares of company stock valued at $353,097. 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.
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