Abbott Laboratories $ABT Shares Purchased by Czech National Bank

Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 442,041 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,764 shares during the quarter. Czech National Bank’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $59,207,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ABT. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.8% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 172,800,851 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $23,502,644,000 after purchasing an additional 2,977,715 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 0.9% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 78,354,270 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $10,656,964,000 after buying an additional 689,517 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 38,293,067 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $5,184,589,000 after acquiring an additional 1,390,554 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,026,180,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,177,029 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,792,209,000 after acquiring an additional 68,613 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $126.63 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $220.19 billion, a PE ratio of 15.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $110.86 and a fifty-two week high of $141.23. The business’s fifty day moving average is $127.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $130.36.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.30. The firm had revenue of $11.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.40 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 31.88%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.21 earnings per share. Abbott Laboratories has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.120-5.180 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 15th will be paid a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 15th. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. This is an increase from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $159.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Benchmark started coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Friday, October 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $145.00 target price for the company. Daiwa Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $134.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $144.00 to $142.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Two equities research 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $147.00.

Abbott Laboratories Company Profile

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.