Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC Takes $1.60 Million Position in Abbott Laboratories $ABT

Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 17,651 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $1,602,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. J. Stern & Co. LLP raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 12,439.6% in the 4th quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 39,319,009 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $4,926,279,000 after buying an additional 39,005,451 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at $2,938,892,000. Flossbach Von Storch SE acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter worth $902,938,000. BlackRock Inc. raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 4.6% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 152,563,476 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $13,843,610,000 after acquiring an additional 6,769,518 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 217.0% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,522,222 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $566,967,000 after purchasing an additional 3,780,402 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories News Summary

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ABT. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $109.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $102.00 in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Three research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $119.50.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $108.86 on Wednesday. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $81.97 and a 52 week high of $137.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $188.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.23, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.59. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $103.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $100.09.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $12.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.52 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 17.69% and a net margin of 11.65%.The firm’s revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.26 earnings per share. 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. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.52 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 15th were issued a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.55%.

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.