Rathbones Group PLC Increases Position in Abbott Laboratories $ABT

Rathbones Group PLC increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,116,386 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 107,648 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories makes up 1.2% of Rathbones Group PLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. Rathbones Group PLC owned 0.18% of Abbott Laboratories worth $390,452,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ABT. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 51.0% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 13,951,907 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,868,718,000 after buying an additional 4,713,135 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 51.0% during the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,525,906 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $740,140,000 after acquiring an additional 1,865,250 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 2.5% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 61,614,739 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $8,251,974,000 after acquiring an additional 1,478,076 shares in the last quarter. Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter worth $185,640,000. Finally, Credit Agricole S A acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth $175,044,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of ABT stock opened at $102.84 on Monday. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $100.88 and a fifty-two week high of $139.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $179.11 billion, a PE ratio of 27.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.58. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $109.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $120.94.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 17.73% and a net margin of 14.72%.The firm had revenue of $11.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.34 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. Equities analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.63 per share. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.74%.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 585 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.58, for a total value of $67,614.30. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 24,628 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,846,504.24. This represents a 2.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Mary K. Moreland sold 613 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.58, for a total value of $70,850.54. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 104,291 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,053,953.78. The trade was a 0.58% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 3,055 shares of company stock valued at $353,097 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ABT. Barclays reduced their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $169.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Leerink Partners dropped 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. Daiwa Securities Group decreased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $113.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Evercore lowered their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $144.00 to $138.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $135.68.

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.