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Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Makes New Investment in Abbott Laboratories $ABT

Abbott Laboratories logo with Healthcare background
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Key Points

  • Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired 2.54 million Abbott shares worth approximately $230.9 million, giving it a 0.15% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 75.18% of the company.
  • Analysts remain broadly bullish, with Abbott holding a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $119.50. The company recently exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations and reaffirmed its 2026 guidance.
  • Abbott launched a ready-to-feed whole-milk Similac formula that could support Nutrition-segment growth, though competitive scrutiny and advertising challenges remain risks in the infant-formula market.
  • MarketBeat previews top five stocks to own in October.

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 2,544,539 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock, valued at approximately $230,891,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned about 0.15% of Abbott Laboratories at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. J. Stern & Co. LLP boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 12,439.6% in the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 39,319,009 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $4,926,279,000 after acquiring an additional 39,005,451 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,938,892,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,082,524,000. Flossbach Von Storch SE purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $902,938,000. Finally, BlackRock Inc. grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 152,563,476 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $13,843,610,000 after purchasing an additional 6,769,518 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $109.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $121.00 to $113.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Wolfe Research raised Abbott Laboratories from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $130.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $119.50.

Get Our Latest Stock Report on ABT

Key Abbott Laboratories News

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

  • Positive Sentiment: New infant formula expands Abbott’s nutrition portfolio. Abbott launched Similac 360 Total Care Made With Whole Milk, described as the first commercially sterile, ready-to-feed liquid whole-milk infant formula available in the U.S. The product targets growing parental interest in whole-milk formulas while offering convenience at a price similar to Similac’s powdered formula. Wider distribution and consumer adoption could provide incremental growth for Abbott’s Nutrition segment. Abbott launches whole-milk liquid infant formula
  • Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain optimistic despite relative underperformance. Coverage notes that ABT has lagged the broader healthcare sector over the past year, but Wall Street analysts continue to express confidence in the company’s outlook. Recent earnings also showed revenue growth, an earnings-per-share beat and reaffirmed 2026 guidance, supporting the bullish view. Abbott stock and healthcare-sector performance
  • Neutral Sentiment: Abbott is positioning the launch around changing consumer and policy preferences. The whole-milk formula introduction aligns with interest in “Make America Healthy Again” themes, but the financial impact will depend on demand, pricing and market share gains. Abbott and the Make America Healthy Again movement
  • Negative Sentiment: Formula-related advertising scrutiny remains a risk. In a challenge brought by Abbott, the National Advertising Division supported certain Kendamil whole-milk claims but recommended that other nutritional, ingredient and heritage claims be modified or discontinued. The decision is not a direct finding against Abbott, but it highlights competitive scrutiny in the infant-formula market. NAD decision on Kendamil infant formula claims

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $108.86 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $188.37 billion, a PE ratio of 35.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.59. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $103.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $100.09. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $81.97 and a 1 year high of $137.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $12.59 billion for 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 for the quarter was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $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. Equities research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

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

About Abbott Laboratories

(Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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