Jericho Financial LLP Grows Stock Holdings in Abbott Laboratories $ABT

Jericho Financial LLP grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 21.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,685 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 5,867 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories makes up 2.2% of Jericho Financial LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Jericho Financial LLP’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $3,458,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ABT. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 175,556,716 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $21,995,501,000 after acquiring an additional 2,402,408 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 79,853,782 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $10,004,880,000 after purchasing an additional 1,627,791 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 63,229,445 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $7,922,519,000 after purchasing an additional 1,614,706 shares during the period. J. Stern & Co. LLP increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 12,439.6% during the 4th quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 39,319,009 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $4,926,279,000 after purchasing an additional 39,005,451 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 39,169,239 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $4,907,523,000 after buying an additional 400,400 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, Director Daniel J. Starks bought 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The shares were bought at an average price of $92.65 per share, for a total transaction of $926,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 6,751,103 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $625,489,692.95. This trade represents a 0.15% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Philip P. Boudreau bought 2,200 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $91.50 per share, with a total value of $201,300.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 2,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $201,300. This represents a ? increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

ABT stock opened at $95.80 on Wednesday. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $81.97 and a 1-year high of $137.49. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $89.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $103.74. The company has a market capitalization of $166.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.83, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.09 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. 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. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 15th will be paid a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 70.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on ABT. Daiwa Securities Group lowered shares of Abbott Laboratories from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $92.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Raymond James Financial dropped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $115.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Benchmark cut their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 17th. Oppenheimer decreased 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. Finally, Leerink Partners dropped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $106.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $118.42.

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.