Diamond Hill Capital Stock Portfolio: Top 10 Stock Picks

2. Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Diamond Hill Capital’s Stake Value: $741.04 million

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 66

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) is engaged in discovering, developing, manufacturing, and selling healthcare products worldwide. Barclays upped the company’s price objective to $158, maintaining an “Overweight” rating, after the management’s improved financial outlook and revised earnings estimates. The company expects FY 2025 adjusted operating margin to be between 23.5% – 24.0% of sales, which reflects an increase of 150 basis points at the midpoint compared to 2024. Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) expects FY 2025 adjusted diluted EPS of $5.05 to $5.25, demonstrating a double-digit growth at the midpoint.

During 2024, the company announced over 15 new growth opportunities coming from its highly productive R&D pipeline. These consist of the combination of new product approvals as well as new treatment indications. Also, the medical device market offers strong growth opportunities for Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT). With the aging of the global population and chronic diseases becoming more prevalent, the demand for advanced medical devices is anticipated to increase. Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)’s focus on developing cutting-edge technologies places it well to capitalize on such trends. Notably, worldwide medical devices sale rose 13.7% YoY in Q4 2024 on a reported basis and 14.0% on an organic basis, including double-digit growth in both the US and internationally.