Kanawha Capital Management LLC Lowers Position in Abbott Laboratories $ABT

Kanawha Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 0.2% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 177,363 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 401 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories accounts for about 1.8% of Kanawha Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Kanawha Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $24,123,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 169,823,136 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $22,527,039,000 after acquiring an additional 1,177,739 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 12.8% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 29.2% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 12.8% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 1.3% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABT has been the topic of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $153.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $149.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Benchmark initiated coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Friday, October 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $145.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $147.61.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ABT opened at $128.69 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.82. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $110.86 and a fifty-two week high of $141.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $223.98 billion, a PE ratio of 16.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.69. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $132.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $131.54.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.30. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 17.78% and a net margin of 31.88%.The business had revenue of $11.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.21 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Abbott Laboratories has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.120-5.180 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.57%.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, CFO Philip P. Boudreau sold 5,550 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was 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 $6,862,453.65. This trade represents a 9.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.