ABBOTT DECLARES 327TH CONSECUTIVE QUARTERLY DIVIDEND

The board of directors of Abbott (NYSE: ABT) today declared a quarterly common dividend of 27.5 cents per share. This marks the 327th consecutive quarterly dividend to be paid by Abbott since 1924. The cash dividend is payable November 15, 2005, to shareholders of record at the close of business on October 14, 2005.

PR Newswire (http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/09-09-2005/0004103863&EDATE=)