Teacher Retirement System of Texas Sells 122,066 Shares of Abbott Laboratories $ABT

Teacher Retirement System of Texas lessened its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 20.3% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 478,986 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 122,066 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $64,155,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter valued at approximately $3,026,180,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 13,347.0% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,056,934 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $823,804,000 after acquiring an additional 6,011,891 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1.8% during 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 acquiring an additional 2,977,715 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in 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 valued at $416,659,000 after acquiring an additional 1,972,097 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 98.6% in the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 3,467,896 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $471,669,000 after purchasing an additional 1,721,523 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Abbott Laboratories

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

• Positive Sentiment: Med‑tech strength and margin expansion: Abbott said its Devices/MedTech businesses performed well in Q4 and reported adjusted EPS growth of ~12%, which supports longer‑term earnings power. Abbott Reports Fourth-Quarter and Full-Year 2025 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support and income profile: Many sell‑side analysts maintain buy/outperform ratings and above‑current price targets, and the company’s Dividend‑King status and buyback capacity are cited as reasons some investors view the recent pullback as a buying opportunity. Is Abbott’s January Pullback a Good Time to Buy?
• Neutral Sentiment: Q4 EPS matched consensus: Abbott reported adjusted EPS of $1.50, in line with estimates — a neutral datapoint that limits the positive surprise potential. Abbott (ABT) Matches Q4 Earnings Estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue miss and segment weakness: Total Q4 revenue of $11.46B fell short of Street estimates (~$11.8B). Weakness in Diagnostics (volatile post‑COVID testing) and a ~9% decline in Nutrition weighed on top‑line growth, prompting investor concern. Abbott misses quarterly revenue estimates on weakness in diagnostics segment
• Negative Sentiment: Guidance disappointed modestly: Q1 EPS guidance (1.12–1.18) is below consensus (~1.20) and FY adjusted EPS range (5.55–5.80) leaves limited upside vs. Street forecasts, which amplified the sell‑off after results. Abbott Reports Fourth-Quarter and Full-Year 2025 Results
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/legal risk in India: Documents show scrutiny of an Abbott Healthcare (India) supply chain tied to alleged misuse of a codeine‑based cough syrup — a developing regulatory issue that adds uncertainty and headline risk. Abbott faces India scrutiny in cough syrup abuse investigation, documents show
• Negative Sentiment: Options flow and investor positioning: There was a large uptick in put buying (≈80.6k puts), indicating elevated bearish bets or hedging demand that can accelerate downside during news flows. (trade flow reported by market sources)

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

NYSE ABT opened at $108.50 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $188.67 billion, a PE ratio of 13.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.72. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $125.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $128.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.70. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $105.78 and a 52-week high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50. The company had revenue of $11.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.80 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 31.88%.Abbott Laboratories’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.34 earnings per share. 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. Sell-side analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 15th will be given a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 15th. This is an increase from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is 31.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ABT. BTIG Research lowered their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $142.00 to $146.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $150.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $162.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Raymond James Financial increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $146.56.

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.