Welch Group LLC Raises Position in Abbott Laboratories $ABT

Welch Group LLC increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 9.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 88,991 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 7,706 shares during the quarter. Welch Group LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $9,137,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ABT. Waterway Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,012,000. Xcel Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 55.2% in the first quarter. Xcel Wealth Management LLC now owns 30,182 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $3,099,000 after acquiring an additional 10,735 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.9% in the first quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 30,252 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $3,106,000 after acquiring an additional 841 shares in the last quarter. Maseco LLP purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter valued at about $494,000. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $9,097,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, Director Daniel J. Starks purchased 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The shares were bought at an average price 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 in the company, valued at approximately $625,489,692.95. This represents a 0.15% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Philip P. Boudreau acquired 2,200 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $91.50 per share, with a total value of $201,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 2,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $201,300. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Oppenheimer decreased their price target 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. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 17th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Finally, BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $131.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $118.30.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE ABT opened at $94.02 on Friday. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $81.97 and a 12-month high of $137.49. The company has a market cap of $163.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $89.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $105.38.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $11.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.99 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 17.62% and a net margin of 13.90%.The firm’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $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. Equities research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.48 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 15th will be given a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 70.59%.

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.