Key Insights

Given the large stake in the stock by institutions, Abbott Laboratories' stock price might be vulnerable to their trading decisions The top 25 shareholders own 49% of the company Insiders have sold recently

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A look at the shareholders of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) can tell us which group is most powerful. We can see that institutions own the lion's share in the company with 79% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Institutional investors was the group most impacted after the company's market cap fell to US$225b last week. Still, the 25% one-year gains may have helped mitigate their overall losses. They should, however, be mindful of further losses in the future.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Abbott Laboratories, beginning with the chart below.

See our latest analysis for Abbott Laboratories NYSE:ABT Ownership Breakdown May 15th 2025

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Abbott Laboratories?

Institutions typically measure themselves against a benchmark when reporting to their own investors, so they often become more enthusiastic about a stock once it's included in a major index. We would expect most companies to have some institutions on the register, especially if they are growing.

Abbott Laboratories already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. If multiple institutions change their view on a stock at the same time, you could see the share price drop fast. It's therefore worth looking at Abbott Laboratories' earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.NYSE:ABT Earnings and Revenue Growth May 15th 2025

Institutional investors own over 50% of the company, so together than can probably strongly influence board decisions. Abbott Laboratories is not owned by hedge funds. The Vanguard Group, Inc. is currently the company's largest shareholder with 9.8% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 7.9% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 7.4% by the third-largest shareholder.

On studying our ownership data, we found that 25 of the top shareholders collectively own less than 50% of the share register, implying that no single individual has a majority interest.

While it makes sense to study institutional ownership data for a company, it also makes sense to study analyst sentiments to know which way the wind is blowing. There are a reasonable number of analysts covering the stock, so it might be useful to find out their aggregate view on the future.

Story Continues

Insider Ownership Of Abbott Laboratories

The definition of company insiders can be subjective and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

Most consider insider ownership a positive because it can indicate the board is well aligned with other shareholders. However, on some occasions too much power is concentrated within this group.

Our data suggests that insiders own under 1% of Abbott Laboratories in their own names. As it is a large company, we'd only expect insiders to own a small percentage of it. But it's worth noting that they own US$1.1b worth of shares. It is always good to see at least some insider ownership, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 20% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Abbott Laboratories better, we need to consider many other factors. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted  1 warning sign for Abbott Laboratories  you should know about.

If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss this freereport on analyst forecasts.

NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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