Simplicity Wealth LLC Purchases 6,608 Shares of Abbott Laboratories $ABT

Simplicity Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 35.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,056 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 6,608 shares during the quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $2,572,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Freemont Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 197.2% in the fourth quarter. Freemont Management S.A. now owns 10,700 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,341,000 after buying an additional 7,100 shares during the period. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth about $116,580,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 24.3% during the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 246,586 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $30,931,000 after purchasing an additional 48,286 shares in the last quarter. Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter worth about $185,640,000. Finally, Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 671,743 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $84,163,000 after purchasing an additional 13,543 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, CFO Philip P. Boudreau acquired 2,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 2,200 shares in the company, valued at $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 the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $92.65 per share, for a total transaction of $926,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 6,751,103 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $625,489,692.95. This represents a 0.15% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer reduced 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 note on Friday, April 17th. Benchmark lowered their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 17th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $131.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, April 27th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $123.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 17th. Three 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $118.42.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 0.5%

Abbott Laboratories stock traded down $0.42 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $93.97. The stock had a trading volume of 6,911,805 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,569,929. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $81.97 and a 52-week high of $137.49. 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 firm has a market cap of $163.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a fifty day moving average of $89.21 and a 200 day moving average of $103.24.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) 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. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company 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. On average, analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 15th will be issued a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 15th. 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.