Royal Bank of Canada Raises Position in Abbott Laboratories $ABT

Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 3.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,463,522 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after buying an additional 209,060 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 0.37% of Abbott Laboratories worth $663,610,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Purpose Unlimited Inc. bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Portfolio Resources Advisor Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Abound Financial LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Abbott Laboratories

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

• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly beat and raised guidance support investor confidence. Abbott reported second-quarter earnings of $1.31 per share, above the $1.28 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 13% year over year to $12.59 billion. Management raised its fiscal 2026 EPS outlook to $5.45-$5.60 and expects third-quarter EPS of $1.38-$1.46. Strong demand for cancer diagnostics and medical devices helped offset concerns about procedure volumes. Abbott Raised Its Profit Forecast
• Positive Sentiment: Growth initiatives provide multiple expansion paths. Abbott is investing in diabetes care, oncology diagnostics and cardiovascular devices through new product launches and acquisitions, giving investors several potential sources of future sales growth. Abbott Rides Key Diabetes, Oncology and Heart Care Innovation Trends
• Positive Sentiment: New colorectal cancer screening rights strengthen Abbott’s diagnostics portfolio. Abbott secured exclusive U.S. commercialization rights for Freenome’s FDA-cleared SimpleScreen blood-based colorectal cancer test. The product could broaden screening access, particularly among Americans overdue for testing, although commercial adoption will determine the financial impact. FDA Approves Freenome’s SimpleScreen CRC Test
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive but see limited valuation upside. UBS lowered its ABT price target from $135 to $125 while maintaining a Buy rating, implying meaningful upside from the referenced trading level. Another analysis noted that Abbott’s earnings setup has improved, but its elevated valuation could constrain returns. UBS Abbott Price Target Update
• Negative Sentiment: Guidance and litigation concerns remain overhangs. Despite the earnings beat and improved outlook, investors continue to monitor legal risks and whether projected growth will justify Abbott’s premium earnings multiple. Abbott Fell as Guidance and Litigation Concerns Overshadowed Growth

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on ABT. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Citigroup increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Weiss Ratings lowered Abbott Laboratories from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $118.17.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 2.7%

Shares of NYSE:ABT opened at $107.34 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $186.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.39. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $92.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $100.85. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $81.97 and a 52-week high of $137.49.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.03. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 17.65% and a net margin of 11.65%.The company had revenue of $12.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.26 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. Abbott Laboratories has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.380-1.46 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 5.450-5.60 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm 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 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.55%.

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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