Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Releases Q2 2024 Earnings Guidance

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) issued an update on its second quarter 2024 earnings guidance on Wednesday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 1.080-1.120 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 1.120. The company issued revenue guidance of -. Abbott Laboratories also updated its FY 2024 guidance to 4.550-4.700 EPS.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ABT opened at $107.29 on Friday. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average is $114.19 and its 200 day moving average is $107.65. The stock has a market cap of $186.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.74. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $89.67 and a 1-year high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $9.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.88 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.32% and a net margin of 13.96%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.03 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup lifted 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. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Barclays lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $124.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $121.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $1,500,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 78,704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,444,480. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, 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 value of $114,115.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,895,094.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $1,500,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 78,704 shares in the company, valued at $9,444,480. 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 ninety days. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ABT. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 104,649.4% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 30,247,436 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $3,320,866,000 after acquiring an additional 30,218,560 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth $1,893,715,000. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 38,966,499 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $4,278,132,000 after buying an additional 4,886,954 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 83.1% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 4,925,012 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $582,924,000 after buying an additional 2,235,314 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position 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 valued at $1,573,920,000 after buying an additional 1,873,411 shares during 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.