UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp Boosts Stock Holdings in Abbott Laboratories $ABT

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 24.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,397 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,863 shares during the quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $3,018,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 175,556,716 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $21,995,501,000 after acquiring an additional 2,402,408 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 79,853,782 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $10,004,880,000 after buying an additional 1,627,791 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 63,229,445 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $7,922,519,000 after purchasing an additional 1,614,706 shares during the last quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 12,439.6% in the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 39,319,009 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $4,926,279,000 after buying an additional 39,005,451 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 39,169,239 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $4,907,523,000 after purchasing an additional 400,400 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

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

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 0.5%

Abbott Laboratories stock traded down $0.42 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $93.97. 6,911,805 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,569,929. The stock has a market capitalization of $163.69 billion, a PE ratio of 26.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $89.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $103.24. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $81.97 and a 52 week high of $137.49.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.01. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.90% and a return on equity of 17.62%. The company had revenue of $11.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.09 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. Equities research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.48 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird started coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $121.00 target price for the company. Mizuho cut their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 17th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $131.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $108.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $118.42.

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.