B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Increases Position in Abbott Laboratories $ABT

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG raised its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 87.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,715,370 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 800,735 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories accounts for approximately 2.3% of B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $227,544,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 0.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 169,823,136 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $22,527,039,000 after purchasing an additional 1,177,739 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 12.8% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 29,763,415 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $3,948,117,000 after acquiring an additional 3,371,113 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 29.2% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 15,985,797 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $2,120,516,000 after acquiring an additional 3,616,471 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 12.8% during the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 14,451,305 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,916,966,000 after acquiring an additional 1,639,954 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.3% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,108,416 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,738,831,000 after acquiring an additional 168,095 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of ABT opened at $131.59 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $229.03 billion, a PE ratio of 16.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.70. The company’s fifty day moving average is $131.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $131.33. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $110.86 and a fifty-two week high of $141.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26. The company had revenue of $11.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.01 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 32.43% and a return on equity of 18.32%. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.14 EPS. Abbott Laboratories has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.100-5.200 EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at 1.280-1.320 EPS. Analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th were issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is presently 29.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on ABT shares. Leerink Partnrs raised Abbott Laboratories to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Leerink Partners began coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, June 16th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $143.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $147.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 18th. Raymond James Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $142.00 to $141.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.47.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, CFO Philip P. Boudreau sold 5,550 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.55, for a total transaction of $746,752.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 51,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,862,453.65. The trade was a 9.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Company Profile

Abbott Laboratories, together with its subsidiaries, discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells health care products worldwide. It operates in four segments: Established Pharmaceutical Products, Diagnostic Products, Nutritional Products, and Medical Devices. The company provides generic pharmaceuticals for the treatment of pancreatic exocrine insufficiency, irritable bowel syndrome or biliary spasm, intrahepatic cholestasis or depressive symptoms, gynecological disorder, hormone replacement therapy, dyslipidemia, hypertension, hypothyroidism, Ménière’s disease and vestibular vertigo, pain, fever, inflammation, and migraine, as well as provides anti-infective clarithromycin, influenza vaccine, and products to regulate physiological rhythm of the colon.