Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Upgraded at Wolfe Research

Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) from a peer perform rating to an outperform rating in a research note released on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $130.00 price target on the healthcare product maker’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on ABT. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $109.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Evercore dropped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $134.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Benchmark cut their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Abbott Laboratories from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $118.67.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABT opened at $111.27 on Thursday. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $81.97 and a one year high of $137.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The company has a market cap of $192.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.01, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.59. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $97.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $99.83.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $12.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.52 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 11.65% and a return on equity of 17.69%. The company’s revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.26 earnings per share. Abbott Laboratories has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.380-1.46 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 5.450-5.60 EPS. Research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is presently 81.55%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 51,719 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $5,850,000 after purchasing an additional 4,755 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 3.5% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,768 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $648,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. United Bank lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 7.4% in the second quarter. United Bank now owns 29,004 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $3,945,000 after buying an additional 2,001 shares during the period. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 13.6% in the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 11,894 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,618,000 after buying an additional 1,428 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 25.6% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,435,683 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $195,267,000 after acquiring an additional 292,547 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Key Abbott Laboratories News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet AI partnership expands Abbott’s growth opportunity: Abbott and Alphabet announced a multiyear collaboration integrating data from Abbott’s over-the-counter Lingo continuous glucose monitor into the Google Health app. Google’s AI Health Coach is expected to use the data to provide personalized recommendations, potentially increasing Lingo adoption and strengthening Abbott’s position in consumer digital health. Can Abbott Laboratories’ Lingo Partnership With Alphabet Unlock a New Era of AI-Powered Health?
• Positive Sentiment: Wolfe Research upgraded ABT to Outperform: The firm raised its rating from “Peer Perform” and set a $130 price target, implying substantial upside from recent trading levels. The upgrade indicates improving analyst confidence in Abbott’s earnings durability and growth prospects.
• Positive Sentiment: Established Pharmaceuticals remains a growth driver: Abbott’s Established Pharmaceutical Products division is benefiting from emerging-market demand, a broad branded-generics portfolio and biosimilar opportunities. This provides diversification beyond the company’s medical-device businesses. What’s Backing Abbott’s Established Pharmaceuticals Division Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent trading strength reflects broad investor support: Abbott outperformed some medical-product peers during a recent strong market session, while bullish commentary has highlighted the company’s diversified portfolio and long-term growth potential. Abbott Laboratories Stock Outperforms Competitors on Strong Trading Day
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation remains a potential constraint: With a forward-looking earnings multiple above 36 and the stock already well above its recent moving averages, further gains may require continued earnings execution and evidence that newer initiatives such as Lingo can materially contribute to revenue.

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.