Along with the usual $250+ weekly contribution, we have $292.12 in uninvested cash available to deploy.
This week, seven of the portfolio holdings ranked in the Top 10.
| Ticker | Account Value |
| ADP | 3,712.97 |
| BDX | 2,879.60 |
| CMCSA | 2,444.87 |
| HTO | 3,911.61 |
| MZTI | 1,177.66 |
| PEP | 3,266.46 |
| PPG | 3,902.25 |
The lowest amount belongs to MZTI. However, there is a position imbalance whereby only UHT is eligible for additional investment. Unfortunately, UHT is not ranked in the Top 10. Folks, we’ve been here before.
It is time to add a new position to the Portfolio for the Ages!
Abbott Laboratories
Here is the profile from Schwab:
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 offers 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, hypertriglyceridemia, 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. It also provides laboratory and transfusion medicine systems in the areas of immunoassay, clinical chemistry, hematology, and transfusion serology testing; molecular diagnostics polymerase chain reaction instrument systems that automate the extraction, purification, and preparation of DNA and RNA from patient samples, and detect and measure infectious agents; point of care systems; cartridges for testing blood gas, chemistry, electrolytes, coagulation, and immunoassay; rapid diagnostics lateral flow testing products; molecular point-of-care testing for HIV, SARS-CoV-2, influenza A and B, RSV, and strep A; cardiometabolic test systems; and drug and alcohol test. In addition, the company offers pediatric and adult nutritional products and infant formula; rhythm management, electrophysiology, heart failure, vascular, and structural heart devices for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases; diabetes care products, such as glucose and blood glucose monitoring systems; and neuromodulation devices. The company was formerly known as Abbott Alkaloidal Company and changed its name to Abbott Laboratories in 1915. Abbott Laboratories was founded in 1888 and is based in Abbott Park, Illinois.
That’s right, Abbott Laboratories [ABT] is 138 years old and still going strong.
The Details
Data as of 2026-06-21:
| Name | Abbott Laboratories |
| Ticker | ABT |
| Website | Investor Relations |
| Sector | Health Care |
| Dividend Streak | 54 years |
| Last Price | $88.41 |
| Div Amt (quarterly) | $0.63 |
| Ann Dividend | $2.52 |
| Last Ann Div Inc | 7.0% |
| Dividend Yield | 2.9% |
| Payout Ratio (ttm) | 46.8% |
| Beta (5-yr, mon) | 0.61 |
| P/E Ratio (ttm) | 16.97 |
Reasons to Invest
ABT reached an all-time high of $142.60 on 2021-12-27. After a few years of consolidation, it challenged that high when it reached $141.23 on 2025-03-14. It has dropped 37% since then and 70% of that decline ($36.88 of the $52.82 drop) has occurred in 2026. Why has it dropped so much?
Earnings growth has slowed over the last three years and sometimes that’s all it takes.
I believe ABT is oversold and I’m not the only one who thinks ABT is undervalued.
GuruFocus has a fair value of $129.
CFRA has a 12-month target value of $125.
Sure Dividend has a fair value of $121.
Morningstar has a fair value of $115.
Each acknowledges that ABT shouldn’t be trading at $140 now because the EPS are not quite back to the levels reached in 2021 & 2022. But even the lowest estimate above suggests ABT could move 30% should earnings continue growing, even if slowly.
First, ABT spun-off ABBV at the very start of 2013, and so I chose not to begin the chart above and below at 2009Q1 as would be typical. ABT’s experience prior to 2013 doesn’t compare well to experience in 2013 and after. Second, note the long-term trend in earnings as indicated by the dashed blue line. There is significant volatility about that line, but the slope shows EPS rising with time. Note that over the last three years the quarterly EPS has had increasing highs and increasing lows. That’s a positive growth trend, not the kind expected back in 2022, but positive nonetheless.
The current P/E ratio of just under 17 is the lowest since the spin-off of ABBV. It could certainly go lower, but I would like to point out that if ABT achieves the low end of their EPS guidance of $5.38 for 2026 it will be their best year ever. Now perhaps the market is no longer willing to price ABT with PE ratios in the mid 20s, but 20 does seem conservatively fair and should that be realized, ABT would be trading over $107.
The payout ratio has been consistently under 50% for over a decade.
ABT has 54 years of dividend increases and the current dividend is well-covered.
Royal Dividends will initiate its position with 14 shares of ABT on Monday morning, supported by our standard $1,000 allocation (11 shares) and the $292.12 cash balance (3 shares). Oddly enough, this new investment won’t eliminate the position imbalance – though it will help matters. The problem is UHT is at a low in its trading range and until their stock price makes a significant move up, the imbalance will remain.
And just to be clear, while UHT is a small position and could be considered unnecessary from a portfolio perspective, Royal dividends has only the slightest of unrealized losses in the company; it simply isn’t a position I wish to sell. So, we will continue to add new positions either until UHT’s account value becomes mathematically significant again, or a certain maximum number of portfolio holdings has been reached. I have not yet determined what the number will be, but when I make that determination, you’ll be the first to know.