Investors Buy Large Volume of Put Options on Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) saw unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock investors bought 80,621 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 683% compared to the average volume of 10,296 put options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Carr Financial Group Corp raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 2.0% during the third quarter. Carr Financial Group Corp now owns 3,880 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $520,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 10.7% during the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 795 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $108,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. Gemmer Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Gemmer Asset Management LLC now owns 2,750 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $368,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Trust Co now owns 14,018 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,907,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Finally, Bridgewater Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 12,555 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,607,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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: Med‑tech / devices strength helped offset weakness elsewhere — management said Devices/MedTech delivered solid growth in Q4, cushioning the hit from Nutrition and Diagnostics. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Adjusted EPS and margins improved — adjusted EPS grew ~12% and matched street expectations, with margin gains driven by product mix and cost improvements. This supports the company’s cash generation and capital-return capacity. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported EPS met consensus ($1.50), limiting the severity of the selloff from an earnings-surprise perspective. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue missed expectations — Q4 revenue was below consensus ($~11.5B vs. ~$11.8B est), driven by a contraction in Nutrition (~‑9%) and weakness in Diagnostics (lower COVID testing and aid-related volatility). That top‑line miss is the main catalyst for the decline. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Guidance came in slightly below street models — Q1 EPS guide (1.120–1.180) and FY 2026 adjusted EPS (5.550–5.800) skated under consensus, which amplified selling pressure given the revenue shortfall. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Unusual bearish options activity — traders bought a large volume of puts (reported ~80,600), signaling elevated short‑term hedging or directional bearish bets that can accelerate downward moves in the stock.
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction and media coverage — widespread headlines on the revenue miss and weaker outlook pushed the shares lower and into fresh downside territory, with analysts noting the pullback even as most maintain constructive long‑term views. Read More.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 10.1%

NYSE:ABT opened at $108.50 on Friday. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $105.78 and a one year high of $141.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.24. 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 simple moving average is $125.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $128.54.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.50. The firm had revenue of $11.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.80 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.88% and a return on equity of 17.60%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm 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. On average, research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a $0.63 dividend. 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 dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is presently 31.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $150.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $147.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $146.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $157.00 to $152.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $142.00 to $146.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $147.39.

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.