Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $136.1579.

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Daiwa Securities Group lowered their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $113.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. Evercore decreased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $144.00 to $138.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Raymond James Financial lowered their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, BTIG Research decreased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 17th.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Daniel J. Starks purchased 10,000 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $108.73 per share, with a total value of $1,087,300.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 6,738,817 shares in the company, valued at approximately $732,711,572.41. This trade represents a 0.15% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Eric Shroff sold 709 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.58, for a total value of $81,946.22. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 39,164 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,526,575.12. This trade represents a 1.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 3,055 shares of company stock worth $353,097. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Charles Schwab Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 109.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Trust Co now owns 29,412 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $3,939,000 after purchasing an additional 15,394 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 858,834 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $115,032,000 after buying an additional 19,966 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 329,430 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $43,785,000 after buying an additional 18,974 shares during the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 20.8% in the 3rd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 65,504 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $8,774,000 after buying an additional 11,264 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mawer Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,255,780 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $168,199,000 after buying an additional 70,122 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of ABT opened at $107.99 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $187.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.74. The company’s fifty day moving average is $114.58 and its 200-day moving average is $123.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $105.27 and a 12 month high of $139.06.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.50. The company had revenue of $11.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.80 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 17.73% and a net margin of 14.72%.The business’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.34 earnings per share. 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. Equities analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be given a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.74%.

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.