California Public Employees Retirement System Lowers Stake in Abbott Laboratories $ABT

California Public Employees Retirement System cut its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 13.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,013,170 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 599,666 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.23% of Abbott Laboratories worth $537,524,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter valued at about $3,026,180,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 13,347.0% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,056,934 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $823,804,000 after purchasing an additional 6,011,891 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 51.0% during 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 buying an additional 4,713,135 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $23,502,644,000 after buying an additional 2,977,715 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 180.7% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,063,443 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $416,659,000 after buying an additional 1,972,097 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, Director Daniel J. Starks bought 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $108.73 per share, with a total value of $1,087,300.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 6,738,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $732,711,572.41. This trade represents a 0.15% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 585 shares of the 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 $67,614.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 24,628 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,846,504.24. This trade represents a 2.32% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,055 shares of company stock valued at $353,097. 0.46% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $107.99 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $114.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $123.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $187.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.03, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.74. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $105.27 and a 12-month high of $139.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced 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 net margin of 14.72% and a return on equity of 17.73%. The firm had revenue of $11.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.34 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. Analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be issued a $0.63 dividend. 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 2.3%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.74%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Evercore decreased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $144.00 to $138.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $132.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Argus decreased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $150.00 to $140.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Leerink Partners lowered their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $119.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, BTIG Research reduced their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $136.16.

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.