Abbott Laboratories $ABT Position Reduced by Bank of Nova Scotia

Bank of Nova Scotia trimmed its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 16.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 259,747 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 52,490 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $26,668,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Freemont Management S.A. grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 197.2% in the fourth quarter. Freemont Management S.A. now owns 10,700 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,341,000 after purchasing an additional 7,100 shares in the last quarter. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth about $116,580,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 24.3% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 246,586 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $30,931,000 after buying an additional 48,286 shares during the last quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,366,000. Finally, Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 671,743 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $84,163,000 after buying an additional 13,543 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 2.4%

Shares of ABT stock opened at $103.13 on Friday. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $81.97 and a one year high of $137.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $91.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $101.33. The stock has a market cap of $179.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.61.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $12.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.52 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 11.65% and a return on equity of 17.65%. The business’s revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.26 EPS. Abbott Laboratories has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.380-1.46 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 5.450-5.60 EPS. Analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 81.55%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on ABT. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 17th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $118.00 price objective (up from $115.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Friday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Argus cut their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $118.61.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Daniel J. Starks acquired 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $92.65 per share, with a total value of $926,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 6,751,103 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $625,489,692.95. This trade represents a 0.15% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.