Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-two analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seventeen have given a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $140.7895.

ABT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $155.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $154.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $147.00 to $135.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. BTIG Research reduced their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $152.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

NYSE:ABT opened at $107.46 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $124.77 and its 200 day moving average is $128.36. The firm has a market cap of $186.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.89, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.70. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $105.78 and a 52-week high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 17.94% and a net margin of 14.72%.The business had revenue of $11.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.34 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. Research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 67.74%.

More Abbott Laboratories News

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ABT. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 172,800,851 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $23,502,644,000 after acquiring an additional 2,977,715 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 78,354,270 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $10,656,964,000 after purchasing an additional 689,517 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 2.5% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 61,614,739 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $8,251,974,000 after purchasing an additional 1,478,076 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.8% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 38,293,067 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $5,184,589,000 after purchasing an additional 1,390,554 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter worth approximately $3,026,180,000. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

About Abbott Laboratories

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.