Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Up 2.1% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Abbott Laboratories shares rose 2.1% on Tuesday, closing at $84.34 after trading as high as $85.10 on volume well above average. The move came even though the stock remains below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Analysts remain generally bullish despite multiple target-price cuts from firms like RBC, Evercore, JPMorgan, Oppenheimer, and Stifel. The stock still carries a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $119.43.
• Recent earnings and dividends support the investment case: Abbott beat quarterly EPS and revenue estimates, raised guidance, and announced a $0.63 quarterly dividend. The dividend implies a 3.0% yield, reinforcing the company’s appeal to income-focused investors.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) shares were up 2.1% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $85.10 and last traded at $84.3350. Approximately 16,345,460 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 37% from the average daily volume of 11,929,741 shares. The stock had previously closed at $82.56.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on ABT shares. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 17th. Evercore lowered their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $134.00 to $120.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company 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 for the company in a report on Friday, April 17th. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $115.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $119.43.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 2.1%

The company has a market cap of $146.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $101.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $114.46.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analyst estimates of $10.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.09 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. 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. Sell-side analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be issued a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is 70.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Mary K. Moreland sold 613 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.58, for a total transaction of $70,850.54. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 104,291 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,053,953.78. This represents a 0.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Daniel J. Starks acquired 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $92.65 per share, with a total value of $926,500.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,751,103 shares of the company's stock, valued at $625,489,692.95. This represents a 0.15% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 3,055 shares of company stock worth $353,097 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ABT. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Purpose Unlimited Inc. bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Portfolio Resources Advisor Group Inc. bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Abound Financial LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. 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.

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