Carillon Tower Advisers, an investment management company, released its “Carillon Eagle Growth & Income Fund” first quarter 2025 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here.  The S&P 500 Index ended Q1 down 4.3%, marking a turbulent start to 2025. The volatility that began in February was triggered by factors including policy uncertainties, economic deceleration, and AI investment sustainability concerns. The market's first intra-quarter drawdown exceeded 10% in 28 months. Adding to the uncertainty, the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield declined from 4.8% to 4.25%, leading to an equity market rotation favoring defensive sectors, quality stocks, and dividend-yielding equities over growth and momentum-driven investments, with top-performing sectors like energy, healthcare, and consumer staples. Moreover, the quarter saw market participation broaden, with index leadership shifting from mega-cap technology companies to a more diverse base of stocks, as evidenced by the S&P 500® Equal Weight Index's outperformance. Additionally, you can check the fund’s top 5 holdings to determine its best picks for 2025.

In its first-quarter 2025 investor letter, Carillon Eagle Growth & Income Fund 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 2.90%, and its shares gained 31.65% of their value over the last 52 weeks.  On May 19, 2025, Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) stock closed at $135.55 per share with a market capitalization of $235.835 billion.

Carillon Eagle Growth & Income Fund stated the following regarding Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) in its Q1 2025 investor letter:

"Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) shares outperformed following the release of solid fourth-quarter results and initial 2025 guidance that was slightly better than analysts’ expectations. The stock also benefited from the broader equity market rotation into the healthcare sector and, more specifically, into the medical device industry."Abbott Laboratories (ABT): Jim Cramer Calls It a ‘Tour de Force’ — Why He’s Still Amazed at This Stock

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 the list of best unstoppable stocks that pay dividends. Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) was a top contributor to Diamond Hill Large Cap Fund's performance in Q1 2025. 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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