Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Issues FY24 Earnings Guidance

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on ABT shares. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $124.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a report on Thursday, December 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an outperform rating and set a $128.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $122.14.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

NYSE:ABT traded down $3.31 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $105.90. The company had a trading volume of 11,989,763 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,677,624. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $89.67 and a 52 week high of $121.64. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $114.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $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. The firm has a market cap of $183.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.50, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.74.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.03. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 14.27% and a return on equity of 20.65%. The firm had revenue of $9.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.88 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.03 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 65,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,315,537.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 963 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $114,115.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,895,094.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 65,027 shares in the company, valued at $7,315,537.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 56,435 shares of company stock valued at $6,451,298. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Abbott Laboratories

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ABT. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Wahed Invest LLC grew its stake in 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 bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, FWL Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently 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.