National Pension Service Buys 457,277 Shares of Abbott Laboratories $ABT

Key Points

• National Pension Service boosted its Abbott Laboratories stake by 12.8% in the fourth quarter, buying 457,277 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 4,023,071 shares worth about $504 million.
• Abbott has seen mixed but generally supportive Wall Street sentiment: analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy on average, though several firms have recently cut price targets as shares have come under pressure.
• The company continues to post fundamental and product wins, including an earnings beat in its latest quarter and recent regulatory/clinical milestones for Libre Duo, Cologuard/Cologuard Plus, and Ultreon 3.0.

National Pension Service raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 12.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,023,071 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after buying an additional 457,277 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned about 0.23% of Abbott Laboratories worth $504,051,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ABT. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Guerra Advisors Inc bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Bridge Generations Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Daiwa Securities Group lowered Abbott Laboratories from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $92.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Raymond James Financial cut their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $115.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Freedom Capital upgraded Abbott Laboratories from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. UBS Group cut their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $115.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $119.09.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 885 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.58, for a total transaction of $102,288.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 146,377 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,918,253.66. This represents a 0.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Daniel J. Starks purchased 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $92.65 per share, for a total transaction of $926,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 6,751,103 shares in the company, valued at $625,489,692.95. This trade represents a 0.15% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 3,055 shares of company stock worth $353,097 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

More Abbott Laboratories News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Abbott secured CE Mark approval in Europe for Libre Duo, the world’s first dual glucose-ketone sensing technology for diabetes care, which could broaden its addressable market and strengthen its diabetes device franchise. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The American Cancer Society reaffirmed Abbott’s noninvasive colorectal cancer screening products, Cologuard and Cologuard Plus, as preferred options for average-risk adults, supporting demand for the company’s screening portfolio. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Abbott also won FDA and EU clearance for its AI-powered Ultreon 3.0 software, which helps guide artery stent placement and could support growth in its cardiovascular business. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst-focused articles reiterated that Wall Street remains broadly bullish on Abbott, and Goldman Sachs maintained a Buy rating even after trimming its price target to $113 from $121. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary on Abbott’s diagnostics unit pointed to a mixed quarter, with Core Lab growth offset by China weakness and softer respiratory testing demand, suggesting uneven near-term performance in the segment. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Some market coverage noted that Abbott’s shares fell in a recent session despite a broader market uptick, reflecting lingering pressure even as fundamental news flow turns more favorable. Article Title

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 0.6%

ABT stock opened at $86.19 on Friday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $94.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $110.87. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $81.97 and a fifty-two week high of $139.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.39. The company has a market cap of $150.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.65.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.01. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 17.62% and a net margin of 13.90%.The business had revenue of $11.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.09 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. 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. On average, research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Abbott Laboratories

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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