Legal & General Group Plc Purchases New Stake in Abbott Laboratories $ABT

Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 11,929,958 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $1,082,524,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter valued at $487,310,000. Sone Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter worth $7,592,000. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,602,000. Peak Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter valued at about $1,337,000. Finally, Fiduciary Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter worth about $117,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Friday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $109.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. 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 note on Friday, July 17th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $119.50.

Trending Headlines about Abbott Laboratories

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 Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:ABT opened at $108.86 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $103.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $100.09. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $81.97 and a twelve month high of $137.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company has a market capitalization of $188.37 billion, a PE ratio of 35.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.59.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.03. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 11.65% and a return on equity of 17.69%. The firm had revenue of $12.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.52 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.26 EPS. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. On average, equities analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is presently 81.55%.

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.