Polen Capital, an investment management company, released its “Polen Global Growth Strategy” first-quarter 2025 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. Global equity markets experienced a surge in volatility in 2025 due to US tariffs, with the "Magnificent 7" falling 15% and semiconductors dropping 19%. U.S. stocks lagged, with international equities surpassing them by nearly 10% due to a weakening dollar and a significant tariff shock after the quarter's close. The Strategy returned -5.18% gross (-5.45 % net) in the quarter compared to the MSCI ACW Index’s -1.32% return. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2025.

In its first-quarter 2025 investor letter, Polen Global Growth Strategy highlighted stocks such as Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT). Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) is a leading manufacturer of health care products. The one-month return of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) was 1.39%, and its shares gained 25.67% of their value over the last 52 weeks.  On May 22, 2025, Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) stock closed at $131.50 per share with a market capitalization of $227.693 billion.

Polen Global Growth Strategy stated the following regarding Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) in its Q1 2025 investor letter:

"Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) was our top relative contributor, up 16% during the quarter, as the company has largely moved past COVID-related headwinds that hampered growth in recent years. Despite progressively improving performance in recent quarters, NEC related litigation in their infant formula business created an overhang on the stock for most of 2024. It appears to us that the stock is turning the corner in 2025, allowing the share price to reflect the compelling underlying fundamental performance of the business. We expect low-teens EPS growth for the next several years as we view Abbott Labs as among the world’s most durable MedTech companies."Was Jim Cramer Right About Abbott Laboratories (ABT)?

An operating room with a doctor monitoring a patient's vital signs during surgery with a medical device.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 66 hedge fund portfolios held Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) at the end of the fourth quarter, compared to 63 in the third quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is as promising as NVIDIA but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the undervalued AI stock set for massive gains.

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In another article, we covered Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) and shared Jim Cramer’s successful stock predictions. Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) played a significant role in the Carillon Eagle Growth & Income Fund's performance during the first quarter. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q1 2025 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.

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