Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Releases Q2 Earnings Guidance

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) issued an update on its second quarter earnings guidance on Wednesday morning. The company provided EPS guidance of $1.08-1.12 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of $1.12. Abbott Laboratories also updated its FY 2024 guidance to 4.550-4.700 EPS.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on ABT shares. Citigroup increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $124.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $121.31.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of ABT stock opened at $107.29 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $186.17 billion, a PE ratio of 33.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.74. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $89.67 and a 52-week high of $121.64. The business’s fifty day moving average is $114.19 and its 200 day moving average is $107.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $9.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.88 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.32% and a net margin of 13.96%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.03 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is presently 68.54%.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total transaction of $4,781,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 65,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,315,537.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $55,932.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,223,060. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total value of $4,781,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 65,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,315,537.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 56,435 shares of company stock valued at $6,451,298 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter valued at $117,000. Worth Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter valued at about $108,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth about $99,000. Tyler Stone Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter valued at about $61,000. Finally, Studio Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 125.0% during the 4th quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 450 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Company Profile

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.