Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Issues FY24 Earnings Guidance

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

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 2.8 %

Shares of ABT stock traded down $3.06 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $106.15. 10,486,820 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,646,895. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $114.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $107.60. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $89.67 and a twelve month high of $121.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $184.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.74. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.03. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 14.27% and a return on equity of 20.65%. The business had revenue of $9.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.88 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.03 earnings per share. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.48%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on ABT shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an outperform rating and issued a $128.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Barclays raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. TheStreet raised Abbott Laboratories from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a research note on Thursday, December 21st. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $124.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $122.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $9,444,480. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 78,704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,444,480. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 963 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $114,115.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at $14,895,094.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 56,435 shares of company stock valued at $6,451,298 over the last 90 days. 0.47% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Abbott Laboratories

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ABT. FIL Ltd grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 595.8% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 185,778 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $20,449,000 after buying an additional 159,078 shares during the last quarter. Burford Brothers Inc. purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth about $345,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth approximately $99,000. SageView Advisory Group LLC grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 14.2% during the fourth quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 13,005 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,476,000 after buying an additional 1,619 shares during the period. Finally, Oarsman Capital Inc. increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Oarsman Capital Inc. now owns 8,627 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $950,000 after buying an additional 365 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by 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.