Royal Bank Of Canada Cuts Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Price Target to $135.00

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) had its target price reduced by Royal Bank Of Canada from $147.00 to $135.00 in a research note published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the healthcare product maker’s stock.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. William Blair raised shares of Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Benchmark began coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Friday, October 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $145.00 target price for the company. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $132.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $142.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.79.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

ABT opened at $107.46 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $186.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.89, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.72. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $124.77 and a 200-day moving average of $128.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $105.78 and a 12-month high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly 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. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 17.94% and a net margin of 14.72%.The firm had revenue of $11.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.34 earnings per share. Abbott Laboratories’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. 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 forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.63 per share. This is a boost from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 15th. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.74%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 10.1% in the fourth 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 period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,768 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $648,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC now owns 3,066 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $417,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. McAdam LLC raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 15.7% in the 2nd quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 2,780 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $378,000 after acquiring an additional 377 shares during the period. Finally, Register Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 49.5% during the second quarter. Register Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,590 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $488,000 after acquiring an additional 1,188 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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

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.