California State Teachers Retirement System Buys 244,153,804 Shares of Abbott Laboratories $ABT

Key Points

• CalSTRS dramatically increased its Abbott Laboratories stake by purchasing 244.2 million shares in the second quarter, bringing its holdings to 246.8 million shares, or approximately 14.26% of the company.
• Abbott beat quarterly expectations with $1.31 EPS and $12.59 billion in revenue, while revenue grew 13% year over year. The company issued 2026 EPS guidance of $5.45–$5.60.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive view, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $119.50; Abbott also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.63 per share, yielding about 2.3%.

California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 9,127.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 246,828,861 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after purchasing an additional 244,153,804 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned about 14.26% of Abbott Laboratories worth $22,397,251,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Purpose Unlimited Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Portfolio Resources Advisor Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Abound Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

NYSE:ABT opened at $108.29 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.38. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $104.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $100.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $187.38 billion, a PE ratio of 35.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.59. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $81.97 and a 52-week high of $137.49.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $12.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.52 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 17.69% and a net margin of 11.65%.The firm's revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.26 EPS. Abbott Laboratories has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.380-1.46 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 5.450-5.60 EPS. Analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.52 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 15th were given a dividend of $0.63 per share. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.55%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ABT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised Abbott Laboratories from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $102.00 in a research note on Friday, June 12th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $118.00 price objective (up from $115.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, BTIG Research raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $131.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $119.50.

Abbott Laboratories Profile

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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