Searle & CO. Grows Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories $ABT

Searle & CO. grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 12.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,450 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Searle & CO.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $2,373,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IMG Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 759.1% during the 2nd quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 189 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter worth $27,000. Elequin Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter valued at $30,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter worth about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABT opened at $126.28 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a market cap of $219.59 billion, a PE ratio of 15.82, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.68. The company’s fifty day moving average is $130.78 and its 200 day moving average is $131.40. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $110.86 and a 52 week high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30. The firm had revenue of $11.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.40 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 17.78% and a net margin of 31.88%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.21 earnings per share. Abbott Laboratories has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.120-5.180 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 15th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ABT shares. Raymond James Financial increased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $147.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $127.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Benchmark assumed coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Friday, October 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $145.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $159.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $147.00.

About Abbott Laboratories

Abbott Laboratories, together with its subsidiaries, discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells health care products worldwide. It operates in four segments: Established Pharmaceutical Products, Diagnostic Products, Nutritional Products, and Medical Devices. The company provides generic pharmaceuticals for the treatment of pancreatic exocrine insufficiency, irritable bowel syndrome or biliary spasm, intrahepatic cholestasis or depressive symptoms, gynecological disorder, hormone replacement therapy, dyslipidemia, hypertension, hypothyroidism, Ménière’s disease and vestibular vertigo, pain, fever, inflammation, and migraine, as well as provides anti-infective clarithromycin, influenza vaccine, and products to regulate physiological rhythm of the colon.