William Blair Research Analysts Lower Earnings Estimates for Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) – Analysts at William Blair reduced their Q2 2024 earnings per share estimates for shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, April 19th. William Blair analyst M. Kaczor now expects that the healthcare product maker will earn $1.10 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $1.12. The consensus estimate for Abbott Laboratories’ current full-year earnings is $4.62 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Abbott Laboratories’ Q1 2025 earnings at $1.13 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $1.28 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $1.32 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $1.42 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $5.15 EPS.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $9.88 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.03 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on the company. Raymond James reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $124.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.50.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $107.57 on Monday. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $89.67 and a 52 week high of $121.64. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $114.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $107.97. The stock has a market cap of $186.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Institutional Trading of Abbott Laboratories

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ABT. Bell Bank increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 18.3% in the 1st quarter. Bell Bank now owns 5,395 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $613,000 after buying an additional 835 shares during the last quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 2,091 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $238,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Summa Corp. bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter worth $252,000. Busey Bank increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Busey Bank now owns 94,293 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $10,717,000 after buying an additional 269 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BSW Wealth Partners increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 8.3% in the 1st quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 12,346 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,403,000 after buying an additional 941 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 78,704 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,444,480. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $55,932.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 18,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,223,060. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was 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 directly owns 78,704 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,444,480. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 56,435 shares of company stock worth $6,451,298. 0.47% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 2.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 68.54%.

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.