Element Capital Management LLC Takes Position in Abbott Laboratories $ABT

Key Points

• Element Capital Management acquired 21,500 Abbott Laboratories shares worth approximately $1.95 million in the second quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 75.18% of the company.
• Abbott exceeded quarterly expectations with $1.31 in EPS and $12.59 billion in revenue, up 13% year over year, while reaffirming its 2026 guidance. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $119.50.
• Abbott launched a ready-to-feed whole-milk Similac formula to expand its nutrition portfolio, though advertising scrutiny and competition in the infant-formula market remain risks. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.63, yielding about 2.3% annually.

Element Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 21,500 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock, valued at approximately $1,951,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. J. Stern & Co. LLP increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 12,439.6% in the 4th quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 39,319,009 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $4,926,279,000 after purchasing an additional 39,005,451 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $2,938,892,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,082,524,000. Flossbach Von Storch SE bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $902,938,000. Finally, BlackRock Inc. boosted 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 buying an additional 6,769,518 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories News Summary

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 Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ABT opened at $108.86 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $188.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.23, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.38. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $81.97 and a fifty-two week high of $137.49. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $103.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $100.09.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $12.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.52 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 11.65% and a return on equity of 17.69%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm 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. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on ABT. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $118.00 price target (up from $115.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Friday, July 17th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $102.00 in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Robert W. Baird started coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. They set an "outperform" rating and a $121.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $109.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an "overweight" 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 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 a consensus target price of $119.50.

Abbott Laboratories Company 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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