Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Price Target Cut to $135.00 by Analysts at Piper Sandler

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) had its target price cut by Piper Sandler from $150.00 to $135.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the healthcare product maker’s stock.

ABT has been the topic of a number of other research reports. William Blair raised shares of Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased 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 note on Friday, January 9th. Daiwa Capital Markets lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $134.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $150.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.79.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE ABT opened at $107.46 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $124.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $128.36. The company has a market capitalization of $186.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.72. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $105.78 and a 1 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.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50. The business had revenue of $11.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.80 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 17.94% and a net margin of 14.72%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.34 EPS. 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, analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 15th. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. This is a boost from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.74%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. IMG Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 759.1% during the 2nd quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 189 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Guerra Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Anfield Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 81.3% in the 2nd quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC now owns 232 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Abbott Laboratories

Here are the key news stories impacting Abbott Laboratories this week:

• Positive Sentiment: MedTech and pharma strength, and EPS resilience — Abbott reported adjusted Q4 EPS growth (company highlighted margin improvements) and strong MedTech (+~12%) and Established Pharma (+~9%) performance that partly offset Nutrition weakness; management still projects FY‑2026 adjusted EPS growth. Press Release
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts keep buy/outperform stance despite cuts — several major firms trimmed price targets after the print but largely maintained buy/overweight ratings, signaling conviction in the longer‑term story even as near‑term expectations were tempered. Analyst Reaction
• Positive Sentiment: Some commentators view the pullback as a buying opportunity — market commentators highlight ABT’s dividend history, cash flow and buyback capacity, suggesting the drop may create an attractive entry for long‑term investors. MarketBeat: Pullback Analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: Full earnings call and transcripts available — investors can review management commentary and segment detail in the Q4 earnings call transcript for color on nutrition, diagnostics and Exact/other strategic items. Earnings Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Dividend/valuation commentary circulates — value and dividend‑focused outlets are flagging ABT as attractively valued after the pullback; this is background context rather than a near‑term catalyst. Zacks: Value Take
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue miss driven by Nutrition and Diagnostics — Q4 revenue (~$11.5B) fell short of consensus, with Nutrition down sharply (~8–9%) and Diagnostics weak, sparking the initial selloff. Reuters: Revenue Miss
• Negative Sentiment: Guidance slightly below Street — Abbott set Q1 EPS and FY‑2026 EPS ranges that sit near or a touch below consensus, increasing near‑term revenue/growth concerns. Guidance Details
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple price‑target cuts — a raft of firms (Citigroup, Goldman, Raymond James, Sanford Bernstein, Oppenheimer, RBC, etc.) trimmed targets, which can amplify selling pressure even if ratings remain constructive. Benzinga: PT Cuts
• Negative Sentiment: Options and hedging activity spiked — an unusual surge in put buying suggests traders are positioning for further near‑term downside (heightened bearish sentiment).
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory scrutiny in India — reports of an investigation into alleged misuse of a codeine‑based cough syrup (Abbott Healthcare) add an extra headline risk in emerging markets. Reuters: India Scrutiny

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.