Merit Financial Group LLC Raises Holdings in Abbott Laboratories $ABT

Merit Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 32.7% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 81,263 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,034 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $10,884,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Founders Financial Alliance LLC grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 41.0% during the 3rd quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC now owns 4,300 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $576,000 after acquiring an additional 1,251 shares in the last quarter. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.0% during the third quarter. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC now owns 16,018 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,145,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 51.6% during the third quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 559,321 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $74,915,000 after buying an additional 190,255 shares during the period. SMART Wealth LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter worth approximately $206,000. Finally, Southeast Asset Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 69.7% during the third quarter. Southeast Asset Advisors LLC now owns 23,364 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $3,129,000 after buying an additional 9,600 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 1.0%

ABT stock opened at $112.63 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $195.84 billion, a PE ratio of 30.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.75. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $105.27 and a 52 week high of $141.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $119.30 and a 200 day moving average of $126.29.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50. The business had revenue of $11.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.80 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 14.72% and a return on equity of 17.94%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.34 earnings per share. 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. Sell-side analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 15th were paid a dividend of $0.63 per share. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 15th. This is a boost from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, Director Daniel J. Starks acquired 10,000 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $108.73 per share, for a total transaction of $1,087,300.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 6,738,817 shares in the company, valued at $732,711,572.41. This trade represents a 0.15% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays reduced their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $169.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $152.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $150.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 23rd. William Blair upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Leerink Partners lowered their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $119.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $137.05.

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.