Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Decreases Stock Holdings in Abbott Laboratories $ABT

Key Points

• Canada Pension Plan Investment Board has reduced its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 50.8%, selling 1,178,267 shares, leaving it with 1,143,136 shares worth approximately $151.6 million.
• Major firms like Vanguard Group and Goldman Sachs have increased their holdings in Abbott, highlighting a trend where 75.18% of Abbott's stock is owned by institutional investors.
• Abbott Laboratories reported earnings per share of $1.26 for the last quarter, matching expectations, and the company has set a FY 2025 EPS guidance of 5.100-5.200.

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board decreased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 50.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,143,136 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 1,178,267 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned about 0.07% of Abbott Laboratories worth $151,637,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 169,823,136 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $22,527,039,000 after buying an additional 1,177,739 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 12.8% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 29,763,415 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $3,948,117,000 after purchasing an additional 3,371,113 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 29.2% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 15,985,797 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $2,120,516,000 after purchasing an additional 3,616,471 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 12.8% in the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 14,451,305 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $1,916,966,000 after purchasing an additional 1,639,954 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,108,416 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $1,738,831,000 after purchasing an additional 168,095 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on ABT shares. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. William Blair raised shares of Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Abbott Laboratories to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $147.00 to $142.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Raymond James Financial lowered their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $142.00 to $141.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Two 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $144.47.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock traded up $0.55 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $132.01. 3,368,883 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,726,949. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $130.84 and a 200-day moving average of $131.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.82. The company has a market cap of $229.75 billion, a PE ratio of 16.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.69. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $110.86 and a 12 month high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.26. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 32.43% and a return on equity of 18.32%. The company had revenue of $11.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.14 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Abbott Laboratories has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.100-5.200 EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at 1.280-1.320 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th were paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is presently 29.57%.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, CFO Philip P. Boudreau sold 5,550 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.55, for a total value of $746,752.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 51,003 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,862,453.65. The trade was a 9.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Company Profile

Abbott Laboratories, together with its subsidiaries, discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells health care products worldwide. It operates in four segments: Established Pharmaceutical Products, Diagnostic Products, Nutritional Products, and Medical Devices. The company provides generic pharmaceuticals for the treatment of pancreatic exocrine insufficiency, irritable bowel syndrome or biliary spasm, intrahepatic cholestasis or depressive symptoms, gynecological disorder, hormone replacement therapy, dyslipidemia, hypertension, hypothyroidism, Ménière's disease and vestibular vertigo, pain, fever, inflammation, and migraine, as well as provides anti-infective clarithromycin, influenza vaccine, and products to regulate physiological rhythm of the colon.