Abbott Laboratories $ABT Shares Bought by Vanguard Group Inc.

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 1.4% in Q4 to 175,556,716 shares, representing a 10.10% ownership stake valued at about $21.996 billion.
• Analysts have trimmed price targets (e.g., Argus, UBS, JPMorgan, Goldman, Piper Sandler) but the consensus remains a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $119.43.
• Abbott slightly beat quarterly expectations (EPS $1.15 vs. $1.14; revenue $11.16B, +7.8% y/y), issued FY2026 guidance of 5.38–5.58 EPS, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.63 (annualized yield ~2.8%).

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 175,556,716 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after acquiring an additional 2,402,408 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 10.10% of Abbott Laboratories worth $21,995,501,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Guerra Advisors Inc acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Bridge Generations Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Copia Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ABT. Argus cut their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $123.00 to $110.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $121.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $115.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $119.43.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 1.4%

ABT opened at $91.16 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.18. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $90.72 and a 12 month high of $139.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $158.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.79. The business has a 50-day moving average of $105.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $117.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.01. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 17.71% and a net margin of 13.90%.The business had revenue of $11.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.09 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Abbott Laboratories has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.380-5.580 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 1.250-1.310 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is presently 70.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, EVP Mary K. Moreland sold 613 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.58, for a total transaction of $70,850.54. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 104,291 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,053,953.78. The trade was a 0.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Elizabeth C. Cushman sold 263 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.58, for a total value of $30,397.54. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 38,573 shares in the company, valued at $4,458,267.34. This trade represents a 0.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 3,055 shares of company stock worth $353,097. 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.

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