Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Abbott Laboratories has received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from 21 analysts, with 15 recommending a buy and two suggesting a strong buy.
• The company's recent quarterly earnings hit analysts' expectations, reporting $1.26 EPS and $11.14 billion in revenue, marking a 7.4% increase from the previous year.
• Abbott Laboratories announced a quarterly dividend of $0.59 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 1.7%, payable to shareholders on November 17th.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the twenty-one analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $145.2222.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ABT. Leerink Partners began coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, June 16th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $143.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $147.00 to $142.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 18th. BTIG Research cut their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $148.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 18th. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Abbott Laboratories to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Abbott Laboratories from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $143.00 to $145.00 in a report on Friday, July 18th.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

NYSE:ABT traded up $1.65 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $136.22. The company's stock had a trading volume of 11,531,874 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,199,671. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $110.86 and a fifty-two week high of $141.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company has a market capitalization of $237.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.69. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $130.47 and a 200-day moving average of $131.14.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.26. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 32.43% and a return on equity of 18.32%. The company had revenue of $11.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.14 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Abbott Laboratories has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.100-5.200 EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at 1.280-1.320 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 15th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is 29.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, CFO Philip P. Boudreau sold 5,550 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.55, for a total value of $746,752.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 51,003 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,862,453.65. This represents a 9.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 7.1% during the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 34,596 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $4,705,000 after buying an additional 2,298 shares during the period. Milestones Private Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter worth $210,000. NWF Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 26.7% in the 2nd quarter. NWF Advisory Services Inc. now owns 12,043 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $1,638,000 after purchasing an additional 2,536 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 9.9% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 348,938 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $47,491,000 after purchasing an additional 31,406 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Trust raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. American Trust now owns 31,162 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $4,238,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

About Abbott Laboratories

Abbott Laboratories, together with its subsidiaries, discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells health care products worldwide. It operates in four segments: Established Pharmaceutical Products, Diagnostic Products, Nutritional Products, and Medical Devices. The company provides generic pharmaceuticals for the treatment of pancreatic exocrine insufficiency, irritable bowel syndrome or biliary spasm, intrahepatic cholestasis or depressive symptoms, gynecological disorder, hormone replacement therapy, dyslipidemia, hypertension, hypothyroidism, Ménière's disease and vestibular vertigo, pain, fever, inflammation, and migraine, as well as provides anti-infective clarithromycin, influenza vaccine, and products to regulate physiological rhythm of the colon.