Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 70,186 Shares of Abbott Laboratories $ABT

Russell Investments Group Ltd. decreased its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 5.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,148,075 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 70,186 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $143,941,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Portfolio Resources Advisor Group Inc. bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ABT. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $115.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $123.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 17th. Barclays reduced their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $144.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Abbott Laboratories from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $118.30.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, Director Daniel J. Starks purchased 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 acquisition, the director owned 6,751,103 shares in the company, valued at approximately $625,489,692.95. This trade represents a 0.15% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Philip P. Boudreau purchased 2,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $91.50 per share, with a total value of $201,300.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 2,200 shares in the company, valued at $201,300. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of ABT stock opened at $90.64 on Wednesday. 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 has a one year low of $81.97 and a one year high of $139.06. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $90.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $107.30. The company has a market capitalization of $157.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.39, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.63.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $11.16 billion during 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%. Abbott Laboratories’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $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. Sell-side analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 15th will be given a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 70.59%.

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.