Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 2,139,914 Shares of Abbott Laboratories $ABT

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lowered its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 13.8% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 13,359,956 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 2,139,914 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,223,915,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Freemont Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 197.2% in the 4th quarter. Freemont Management S.A. now owns 10,700 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,341,000 after purchasing an additional 7,100 shares during the last quarter. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $116,580,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 24.3% in 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 buying an additional 48,286 shares during the period. Aureus Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 25.0% in the first quarter. Aureus Asset Management LLC now owns 331,920 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $34,078,000 after acquiring an additional 66,422 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 23.9% during the 4th quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 88,784 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $11,124,000 after acquiring an additional 17,137 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 0.0%

NYSE:ABT opened at $116.62 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $100.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $99.98. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $81.97 and a 52-week high of $137.49. The company has a market cap of $201.80 billion, a PE ratio of 37.74, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.38.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.03. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 17.69% and a net margin of 11.65%.The firm had revenue of $12.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.52 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.26 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Abbott Laboratories has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.380-1.46 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 5.450-5.60 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 15th were given a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 81.55%.

Key Stories Impacting Abbott Laboratories

Here are the key news stories impacting Abbott Laboratories this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Abbott’s Instinct continuous glucose sensor is now commercially shipping in the U.S. integrated with MiniMed’s Flex automated insulin-delivery system. The partnership expands Abbott’s presence in diabetes technology and could support sensor adoption and recurring revenue. MiniMed Ships MiniMed Flex With Abbott’s Smallest Instinct Sensor
• Positive Sentiment: Abbott also entered a multiyear agreement with HealthTab to distribute its Afinion 2 point-of-care analyzers through NHS-linked pharmacies in the United Kingdom. The deal may broaden access to Abbott’s HbA1c and lipid-testing products, although financial details were not disclosed. HealthTab Enters Multi-Year Collaboration Agreement with Abbott
• Neutral Sentiment: Abbott agreed to pay approximately $670 million to resolve the Gill case and claims from roughly 2,000 individuals involving specialty formulas for premature infants. The settlement resolves a portion of the litigation, including the appeal of a prior $495 million verdict, reducing uncertainty and potentially avoiding additional legal costs. Abbott denied that its products cause necrotizing enterocolitis and said regulators and medical professionals consider the formulas safe and necessary. Abbott agrees to $670 million settlement of infant formula cases
• Negative Sentiment: The settlement represents a significant cash and earnings cost and does not resolve all potential litigation related to the infant formulas. Investors may continue to assess the scope of remaining claims and the effect on Abbott’s legal reserves and profitability. Abbott reaches agreements to resolve a portion of litigation involving its specialty formulas

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Friday, July 17th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. BTIG Research raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $131.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Abbott Laboratories from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $130.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $118.67.

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.