Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Upgraded by Robert W. Baird to “Strong-Buy” Rating

Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABTFree Report) to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Evercore lowered their price objective 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. Raymond James Financial reduced their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $115.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $108.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 17th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $131.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $118.42.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on Abbott Laboratories

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 3.3%

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $95.25 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a market cap of $165.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.68, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.61. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $88.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $104.41. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $81.97 and a 52-week high of $137.49.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABTGet Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $11.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.99 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.09 earnings per share. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue 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. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.63 per share. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 70.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Philip P. Boudreau acquired 2,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $91.50 per share, for a total transaction of $201,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 2,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $201,300. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Daniel J. Starks bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the purchase, the director owned 6,751,103 shares in the company, valued at approximately $625,489,692.95. This represents a 0.15% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate 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. Brighton Jones LLC grew 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 lifted its position 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 in the last quarter. United Bank boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 7.4% during the second quarter. United Bank now owns 29,004 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $3,945,000 after buying an additional 2,001 shares during the last quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 13.6% during the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 11,894 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,618,000 after buying an additional 1,428 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 25.6% in the 2nd 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 buying an additional 292,547 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

More Abbott Laboratories News

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

  • Positive Sentiment: Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on Abbott with an “outperform” rating and a $121 price target, signaling meaningful upside from current levels. Article Title
  • Positive Sentiment: Baird’s bullish view follows a broader positive analyst backdrop, with another report highlighting Abbott among Wednesday’s notable Wall Street research calls. Article Title
  • Positive Sentiment: Abbott also benefited from news that Tandem Diabetes Care launched compatibility for its t:slim X2 insulin pump with Abbott’s FreeStyle Libre 3 Plus sensor in five international markets, which may support adoption of Abbott’s diabetes device ecosystem. Article Title
  • Positive Sentiment: Abbott cleared a major legal risk after the DOJ ended its criminal formula probe, removing a potential overhang that had weighed on the stock. Article Title
  • Neutral Sentiment: Some recent coverage compares Abbott with Intuitive Surgical as a healthcare investment idea, but this is more commentary than a direct catalyst for the shares. Article Title

Abbott Laboratories Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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