Erste Group Bank Has Bearish Outlook for ABT FY2026 Earnings

Key Points

• Erste Group cut FY2026 EPS for Abbott — analyst H. Engel lowered the FY2026 forecast to $5.48 from $5.68 and projects FY2027 EPS of $6.05, matching the current consensus FY2026 estimate of $5.48.
• Multiple brokers trimmed price targets — Citigroup, Raymond James, RBC, Stifel and Barclays reduced targets in April, and MarketBeat shows a consensus target of $119.43 with a "Moderate Buy" rating.
• Abbott beat Q1 estimates and confirmed guidance — the company slightly beat revenue and EPS expectations, issued FY2026 guidance of $5.38–$5.58 EPS, and announced a $0.63 quarterly dividend (roughly a 2.8% yield).

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) - Investment analysts at Erste Group Bank decreased their FY2026 earnings per share estimates for shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report issued on Monday, April 27th. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now forecasts that the healthcare product maker will post earnings per share of $5.48 for the year, down from their previous forecast of $5.68. The consensus estimate for Abbott Laboratories' current full-year earnings is $5.48 per share. Erste Group Bank also issued estimates for Abbott Laboratories' FY2027 earnings at $6.05 EPS.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on ABT. Citigroup cut their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $108.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Raymond James Financial cut their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $115.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $144.00 to $143.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $119.43.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

ABT stock opened at $91.52 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $159.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.58. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $90.72 and a 52-week high of $139.06. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $104.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $116.38.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $11.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.99 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 17.71% and a net margin of 13.90%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.09 EPS. 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.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 70.59%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Daniel J. Starks bought 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $108.73 per share, with a total value of $1,087,300.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,738,817 shares in the company, valued at $732,711,572.41. This represents a 0.15% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mary K. Moreland sold 613 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.58, for a total transaction of $70,850.54. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 104,291 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,053,953.78. This represents a 0.58% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 22,200 shares of company stock worth $2,215,100 and have sold 3,055 shares worth $353,097. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Global Financial Private Client LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC now owns 2,469 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $331,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Citizens & Northern Corp raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Citizens & Northern Corp now owns 21,875 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $2,930,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. American National Bank of Texas raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. American National Bank of Texas now owns 3,408 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $427,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Nia Impact Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Nia Impact Advisors LLC now owns 3,706 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $504,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Finally, Nova R Wealth Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Nova R Wealth Inc. now owns 2,802 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $375,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. 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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