Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-six ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation, nineteen have issued a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $118.3043.

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Benchmark cut their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $144.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Leerink Partners cut their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $106.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 17th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Abbott Laboratories news, Director Daniel J. Starks acquired 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $92.65 per share, for a total transaction of $926,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 6,751,103 shares in the company, valued at $625,489,692.95. The trade was a 0.15% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Philip P. Boudreau acquired 2,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $91.50 per share, with a total value of $201,300.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer owned 2,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $201,300. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. American National Bank of Texas lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. American National Bank of Texas now owns 3,408 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $427,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Nia Impact Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Nia Impact Advisors LLC now owns 3,706 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $504,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Park Place Capital Corp raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 11.0% during the 4th quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 815 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $102,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,028 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $674,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clayton Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC now owns 6,217 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $779,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $94.02 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $89.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $105.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $163.77 billion, a PE ratio of 26.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.63. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $81.97 and a 1-year high of $137.49.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.01. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.90% and a return on equity of 17.62%. The business had revenue of $11.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.09 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Abbott Laboratories has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.380-5.580 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 1.250-1.310 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 15th will be issued a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is presently 70.59%.

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.