KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Cuts Stake in Abbott Laboratories $ABT

Key Points

• KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS trimmed its Abbott Laboratories stake by 3.5% in Q4, selling 24,600 shares to hold 686,499 shares worth about $86.0 million.
• Abbott reported Q1 EPS of $1.15 (vs. $1.14 est.) and revenue of $11.16B (+7.8% y/y), set FY2026 EPS guidance of 5.380–5.580, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.63 ($2.52 annual, ~2.7% yield).
• The stock is down (opened ~3.3% lower) and trading near its 52‑week low as several brokers trimmed price targets, though the consensus remains a Moderate Buy with an average target of $120.35.

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS lessened its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 686,499 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 24,600 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $86,011,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital International Investors grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 2.5% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 61,614,739 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $8,251,974,000 after purchasing an additional 1,478,076 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 5.8% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 15,096,907 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $2,022,080,000 after purchasing an additional 821,325 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 51.0% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 13,951,907 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $1,868,718,000 after purchasing an additional 4,713,135 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 3.8% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 13,500,829 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $1,804,050,000 after purchasing an additional 499,351 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 7.2% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 12,900,318 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $1,727,869,000 after purchasing an additional 864,531 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 3.3%

Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $92.83 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $92.65 and a 52 week high of $139.06. The company has a market capitalization of $161.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.79. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $107.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $118.00.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.15 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 firm had revenue of $11.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.09 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.53 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is 70.59%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Mary K. Moreland sold 613 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.58, for a total transaction of $70,850.54. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 104,291 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,053,953.78. The trade was a 0.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Eric Shroff sold 709 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.58, for a total value of $81,946.22. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 39,164 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,526,575.12. This trade represents a 1.78% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 3,055 shares of company stock valued at $353,097. 0.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Key Abbott Laboratories News

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

• Positive Sentiment: UBS reaffirmed a buy rating on ABT (while trimming its target), keeping analyst support that underpins a constructive view of the stock. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend-focused coverage highlights a near‑3% yield and argues the pullback could be a buy opportunity for income investors. This supports demand from dividend-seeking funds. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Opinion pieces urging investors to "buy the dip" and comparing ABT favorably within medical devices highlight confidence in the company’s longer-term fundamentals despite the recent pullback. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage noting ABT trades near its 52‑week low while analysts remain bullish frames the current level as potential upside from existing price targets, attracting value-oriented investors. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Abbott’s CancerGuard / multi‑cancer early detection progress and new DETECT A outcomes add a strategic diagnostics growth narrative that could materially boost long‑term revenue if commercial rollout scales. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Options‑market flow has shown atypical activity, which some traders interpret as a bet on near‑term volatility — a signal worth monitoring but not a directional confirmation. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several brokers trimmed price targets (UBS 158→135, Argus 140→125, Leerink 119→106) but many maintained buy/overweight stances — reducing near‑term upside expectations while keeping medium‑term support intact. Article Title Article Title Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Social and news summaries flagged that Q1 results beat estimates but management cut full‑year guidance (mild flu season, acquisition costs), which drove the post‑earnings selloff and remains the primary driver of today’s weakness. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Headline commentary that Barclays has "lowered expectations" adds to investor caution; cumulative PT trims and the guidance cut have weighed on sentiment and liquidity. Article Title

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABT has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $123.00 to $110.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 17th. BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating and set a $131.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Weiss Ratings lowered Abbott Laboratories from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $120.35.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ABT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report).

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.