Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, fifteen have assigned a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $136.1579.

ABT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Evercore decreased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $144.00 to $138.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Freedom Capital raised shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Leerink Partners decreased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $119.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 11th.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $107.16 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $186.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.74. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $113.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $123.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.58. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $105.27 and a 1 year high of $139.06.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.50. The company had revenue of $11.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.80 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 17.73% and a net margin of 14.72%.Abbott Laboratories’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm 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. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be issued a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.74%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Daniel J. Starks acquired 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $108.73 per share, with a total value of $1,087,300.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 6,738,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $732,711,572.41. This represents a 0.15% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 585 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.58, for a total value of $67,614.30. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 24,628 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,846,504.24. The trade was a 2.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 3,055 shares of company stock valued at $353,097 in the last 90 days. 0.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ABT. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Portfolio Resources Advisor Group Inc. purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Abound Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.