Citigroup Has Lowered Expectations for Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Stock Price

Key Points

• Citigroup cut its price target on Abbott to $136 (from $140) but kept a "buy" rating; multiple firms trimmed targets and the consensus is a Moderate Buy with an average target of $136.16.
• Shares are trading around $110.25, implying roughly a 23% upside to analyst targets; Abbott posted Q4 EPS of $1.50 (in line) but missed revenue at $11.46B, gave Q1 and FY 2026 EPS guidance, and has seen modest insider selling alongside increased institutional ownership.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) had its target price dropped by equities research analysts at Citigroup from $140.00 to $136.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "buy" rating on the healthcare product maker's stock. Citigroup's price target suggests a potential upside of 23.35% from the company's previous close.

Several other research firms have also commented on ABT. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $132.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $154.00 to $125.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Leerink Partners cut their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $119.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. Daiwa Securities Group lowered their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $113.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, William Blair raised shares of Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $136.16.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ABT traded down $0.30 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $110.25. 2,150,494 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,395,036. The firm has a market capitalization of $191.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.66, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.58. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $115.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $124.29. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $105.27 and a one year high of $139.06.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.50. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 17.73% and a net margin of 14.72%.The business had revenue of $11.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.80 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.34 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter 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. On average, equities analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Elizabeth C. Cushman sold 263 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.58, for a total transaction of $30,397.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 38,573 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,458,267.34. This trade represents a 0.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 585 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.58, for a total value of $67,614.30. Following the sale, the vice president owned 24,628 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,846,504.24. The trade was a 2.32% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,055 shares of company stock worth $353,097. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 175,556,716 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $21,995,501,000 after acquiring an additional 2,402,408 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 79,853,782 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $10,004,880,000 after purchasing an additional 1,627,791 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 63,229,445 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $7,922,519,000 after purchasing an additional 1,614,706 shares in the last quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 12,439.6% in the 4th quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 39,319,009 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $4,926,279,000 after purchasing an additional 39,005,451 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 39,169,239 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $4,907,523,000 after buying an additional 400,400 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Company Profile

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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