Abbott Laboratories $ABT Shares Sold by Erste Asset Management GmbH

Erste Asset Management GmbH lessened its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 17.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,137,264 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 246,523 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories comprises approximately 1.5% of Erste Asset Management GmbH’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Erste Asset Management GmbH owned 0.07% of Abbott Laboratories worth $151,492,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ABT. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 172,800,851 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $23,502,644,000 after acquiring an additional 2,977,715 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 78,354,270 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $10,656,964,000 after purchasing an additional 689,517 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 3.8% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 38,293,067 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $5,184,589,000 after purchasing an additional 1,390,554 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,026,180,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.8% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 15,096,907 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,022,080,000 after buying an additional 821,325 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $116.21 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $201.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $117.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $125.41. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $105.27 and a 1-year high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50. The firm had revenue of $11.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.80 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 17.73% and a net margin of 14.72%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.34 earnings per share. Abbott Laboratories has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.120-1.180 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 5.550-5.800 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.63 per share. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.74%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ABT. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $155.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Leerink Partners reduced their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $119.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $132.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, William Blair raised Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $137.05.

Abbott Laboratories News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Abbott Laboratories this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst/bullish research: A Seeking Alpha piece argues Abbott’s recent pullback is a buying opportunity, citing attractive profitable-growth characteristics and positioning for recovery. Abbott’s Meltdown Is Worth Buying
• Positive Sentiment: Income and steady growth pitch: The Motley Fool highlights Abbott as a steady income stock with double‑digit earnings growth and a dependable dividend, supporting longer-term total‑return appeal. Forget Tilray: This Steady Income Stock Beats Wild Cannabis Swings Every Time
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation snapshot shows mixed signals: A Yahoo Finance valuation piece notes short‑term momentum has been weak and longer‑term returns negative, leaving conflicting “fair value” signals for investors to reconcile. Assessing Abbott Laboratories (ABT) Valuation
• Neutral Sentiment: Peer comparison: Coverage comparing Abbott to Intuitive Surgical frames Abbott as the steadier, dividend‑paying medtech pick, while Intuitive may offer higher growth from procedural/robotics expansion — useful for portfolio allocation but not an immediate earnings shock. Intuitive Surgical or Abbott: Which MedTech Stock Is a Better Bet Now?
• Neutral Sentiment: Sector noise from diagnostics peers: A large drop in Grail’s stock after trial updates is creating headline risk for diagnostics names; this may press sentiment in the broader diagnostics/medtech complex but does not directly change Abbott’s fundamentals. Grail’s Stock Dropped 50% on Friday
• Negative Sentiment: Underperformance and analyst skepticism: Multiple pieces note ABT has underperformed the Nasdaq and that some research houses have trimmed price targets and flagged execution/earnings-translation risk — pressure that can weigh on sentiment until clarity on growth drivers. Is Abbott Laboratories Stock Underperforming the Nasdaq?
• Negative Sentiment: Split analyst views driving volatility: A market narrative piece documents a wide range of recent price‑target moves (some cuts, at least one raise into the mid‑$150s), leaving investors with conflicting signals and more volatile price action. How The Evolving Wall Street Narrative Is Reframing Abbott Laboratories (ABT) Valuation Prospects

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, Director Daniel J. Starks bought 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $108.73 per share, with a total value of $1,087,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,738,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $732,711,572.41. This represents a 0.15% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

About Abbott Laboratories

Abbott Laboratories is a global healthcare company headquartered in Abbott Park, Illinois, that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of medical products and services. Founded in 1888, Abbott operates through multiple business areas that focus on diagnostics, medical devices, nutritionals and established pharmaceuticals. The company supplies hospitals, clinics, laboratories, retailers and direct-to-consumer channels with products intended to diagnose, treat and manage a wide range of health conditions.

In diagnostics, Abbott provides laboratory and point-of-care testing platforms and assays used to detect infectious diseases, chronic conditions and biomarkers; its Alinity family of instruments and rapid-test solutions are examples of this capability.