Vestcor Inc Increases Holdings in Abbott Laboratories $ABT

Key Points

• Vestcor Inc. raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 26.8% during Q3, boosting its holdings to 76,865 shares valued at about $10.3 million.
• Abbott reported in-line quarterly results and issued guidance: $1.50 EPS for the quarter (meeting estimates), revenue of $11.46B (slightly below estimates), Q1 2026 guidance of $1.120–1.180 and FY 2026 guidance of $5.550–5.800, and declared a $0.63 quarterly dividend (2.3% yield).
• Institutional and insider moves plus analyst updates: institutional ownership is ~75.2%, insiders sold ~3,055 shares (~$353k) in the last 90 days, and analysts have trimmed targets but the consensus rating remains a "Moderate Buy" with a $137.05 target.

Vestcor Inc raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 26.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 76,865 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after buying an additional 16,249 shares during the quarter. Vestcor Inc's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $10,295,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 172,800,851 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $23,502,644,000 after purchasing an additional 2,977,715 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 78,354,270 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $10,656,964,000 after purchasing an additional 689,517 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.8% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 38,293,067 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $5,184,589,000 after buying an additional 1,390,554 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter worth about $3,026,180,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings 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 worth $2,022,080,000 after buying an additional 821,325 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 585 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.58, for a total transaction of $67,614.30. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 24,628 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,846,504.24. This represents a 2.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 885 shares of the business'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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 146,377 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,918,253.66. The trade was a 0.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 3,055 shares of company stock worth $353,097 in the last ninety days. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of ABT opened at $109.74 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock has a market cap of $190.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.74. The business's 50 day moving average price is $116.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $124.57. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $105.27 and a 52 week high of $139.15.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 17.73% and a net margin of 14.72%.The company had revenue of $11.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.80 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.34 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Abbott Laboratories has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.120-1.180 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 5.550-5.800 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be paid a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is presently 67.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $154.00 to $125.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $152.00 to $140.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $132.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 23rd. William Blair raised Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $155.00 to $140.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $137.05.

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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