Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Stock Price Up 1.2% – What’s Next?

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)’s share price traded up 1.2% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $85.27 and last traded at $84.7990. 10,869,644 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 9% from the average session volume of 11,917,619 shares. The stock had previously closed at $83.83.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on ABT. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 17th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $131.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, April 27th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $123.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $119.43.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 1.2%

The firm has a market cap of $147.70 billion, a PE ratio of 23.75, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $100.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $113.85.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.09 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter 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. Analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.48 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.63 per share. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is 70.59%.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 885 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.58, for a total value of $102,288.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 146,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,918,253.66. This represents a 0.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Daniel J. Starks acquired 10,000 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $92.65 per share, for a total transaction of $926,500.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 6,751,103 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $625,489,692.95. This trade represents a 0.15% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 3,055 shares of company stock worth $353,097 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ABT. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Purpose Unlimited Inc. purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Portfolio Resources Advisor Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Abound Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Hedge funds and other 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.