Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Updates Q2 Earnings Guidance

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

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 1.9 %

NYSE ABT opened at $107.29 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $89.67 and a 52 week high of $121.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $186.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.42, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a fifty day moving average of $114.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $107.65.

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

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays boosted 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. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $124.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $121.31.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 18,760 shares in the company, valued at $2,223,060. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $1,500,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 78,704 shares in the company, valued at $9,444,480. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $55,932.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 18,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,223,060. 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 in the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 156,444,700 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $17,219,868,000 after acquiring an additional 679,359 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 38,966,499 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $4,278,132,000 after purchasing an additional 4,886,954 shares during the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 104,649.4% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 30,247,436 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $3,320,866,000 after purchasing an additional 30,218,560 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth $1,893,715,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 14,299,250 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,573,920,000 after buying an additional 1,873,411 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is 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.