Abbott Laboratories $ABT Shares Acquired by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 8.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,303,321 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 831,746 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,379,290,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ABT. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 51,719 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $5,850,000 after acquiring an additional 4,755 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.5% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,768 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $648,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. United Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 7.4% during the second quarter. United Bank now owns 29,004 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $3,945,000 after purchasing an additional 2,001 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 17.5% in the 2nd quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 4,971 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $676,000 after purchasing an additional 740 shares during the period. Finally, PFG Advisors increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 8,197 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,115,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

ABT stock opened at $110.60 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $115.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $124.29. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $105.27 and a 52 week high of $139.06. The stock has a market cap of $192.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.58.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.50. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 14.72% and a return on equity of 17.73%. The firm had revenue of $11.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.80 billion. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.34 EPS. Abbott Laboratories has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.120-1.180 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 5.550-5.800 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.63 per share. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BTIG Research reduced their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Evercore reduced their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $144.00 to $138.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $147.00 to $135.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Argus reduced their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $150.00 to $140.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $136.37.

Insider Activity

In other Abbott Laboratories news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 585 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.58, for a total value of $67,614.30. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 24,628 shares in the company, valued at $2,846,504.24. The trade was a 2.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mary K. Moreland sold 613 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.58, for a total value of $70,850.54. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 104,291 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,053,953.78. This trade represents a 0.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,055 shares of company stock valued at $353,097. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Company 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.