Avanza Fonder AB Raises Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories $ABT

Avanza Fonder AB grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 9.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 195,451 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,161 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories comprises about 0.6% of Avanza Fonder AB’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Avanza Fonder AB’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $24,488,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of ABT. Charles Schwab Trust Co raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 109.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Trust Co now owns 29,412 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $3,939,000 after purchasing an additional 15,394 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 858,834 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $115,032,000 after buying an additional 19,966 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 329,430 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $43,785,000 after buying an additional 18,974 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 20.8% in the 3rd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 65,504 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $8,774,000 after acquiring an additional 11,264 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mawer Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,255,780 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $168,199,000 after acquiring an additional 70,122 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ABT. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Leerink Partners cut their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $119.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $152.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded Abbott Laboratories from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $136.16.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of ABT opened at $104.87 on Tuesday. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $104.10 and a twelve month high of $139.06. The company has a market capitalization of $182.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.74. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $112.36 and a 200 day moving average of $122.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.50. The business had revenue of $11.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.80 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 17.73% and a net margin of 14.72%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.34 EPS. Abbott Laboratories has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.120-1.180 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 5.550-5.800 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be issued a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.74%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Abbott Laboratories news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 585 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.58, for a total transaction of $67,614.30. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 24,628 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,846,504.24. This represents a 2.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mary K. Moreland sold 613 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.58, for a total transaction of $70,850.54. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 104,291 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,053,953.78. The trade was a 0.58% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 3,055 shares of company stock worth $353,097 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Company 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.