Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. Makes New $25.15 Million Investment in Abbott Laboratories $ABT

Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 244,980 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $25,152,000.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $144.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 20th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $137.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Evercore decreased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $134.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $122.00 to $109.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $118.42.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, Director Daniel J. Starks bought 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $92.65 per share, with a total value of $926,500.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,751,103 shares in the company, valued at $625,489,692.95. The trade was a 0.15% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Philip P. Boudreau purchased 2,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $91.50 per share, for a total transaction of $201,300.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 2,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $201,300. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of ABT stock opened at $92.15 on Thursday. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $81.97 and a 1-year high of $137.49. The firm has a market cap of $160.51 billion, a PE ratio of 25.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a 50-day moving average of $88.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $104.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate of $10.99 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.90% and a return on equity of 17.62%. The business’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.09 EPS. 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, analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.48 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 15th will be paid a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is presently 70.59%.

Key Abbott Laboratories News

Here are the key news stories impacting Abbott Laboratories this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on Abbott Laboratories with an Outperform rating and a $121 price target, signaling strong upside potential and renewed Wall Street confidence. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Tandem Diabetes Care launched compatibility for its t:slim X2 insulin pump with Abbott’s FreeStyle Libre 3 Plus sensor in five international markets, which could expand Abbott’s CGM ecosystem and support diabetes-care sales. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo reiterated a Buy rating on Abbott Laboratories, adding to the positive analyst sentiment around the stock. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: TipRanks highlighted Abbott as one of the dividend aristocrats that Wall Street currently likes, reinforcing the view that it remains a favored defensive healthcare name. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent coverage compared Abbott with Intuitive Surgical, but the article was more of a broader healthcare-stock debate than a direct catalyst for Abbott’s shares. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Abbott-related commentary on multi-cancer blood screening and broader healthcare trends is informative for the sector, but it does not appear to be a direct company-specific catalyst. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Abbott also faced headlines about a closed U.S. criminal probe into its infant-formula plant and a proposed civil settlement, which could remain a legal overhang even if the worst-case risk has eased. Article Title

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.