Willis Investment Counsel Increases Holdings in Abbott Laboratories $ABT

Willis Investment Counsel raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 73.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 345,349 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 146,000 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories accounts for about 1.5% of Willis Investment Counsel’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Willis Investment Counsel’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $31,337,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Purpose Unlimited Inc. purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Portfolio Resources Advisor Group Inc. bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Abound Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ABT has been the topic of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $121.00 to $113.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $121.00 target price for the company. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $102.00 in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $118.67.

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

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ABT opened at $116.62 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $100.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $99.98. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $81.97 and a fifty-two week high of $137.49. The company has a market capitalization of $201.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.74, a P/E/G 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $12.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.52 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 17.69% and a net margin of 11.65%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.26 EPS. 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. Analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 15th were paid 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 81.55%.

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.