Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Updates FY24 Earnings Guidance

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) issued an update on its FY24 earnings guidance on Wednesday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of $4.55-4.70 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of $4.62. Abbott Laboratories also updated its FY 2024 guidance to 4.550-4.700 EPS.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ABT. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an outperform rating and issued a $128.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. TheStreet raised Abbott Laboratories from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a report on Thursday, December 21st. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $122.14.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of ABT stock traded down $3.31 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $105.90. The stock had a trading volume of 11,989,763 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,677,624. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $89.67 and a 12-month high of $121.64. The company has a market cap of $183.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.74. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $114.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $107.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.03. 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 20.65% and a net margin of 14.27%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.03 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 67.48%.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 65,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,315,537.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $55,932.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,223,060. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total value of $4,781,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 65,027 shares in the company, valued at $7,315,537.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 56,435 shares of company stock valued at $6,451,298 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ABT. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Wahed Invest LLC grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 888.9% in the 4th quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 270,163 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 242,843 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, FWL Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Abbott Laboratories

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.