Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Director Acquires $1,087,300.00 in Stock

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Director Daniel Starks purchased 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $108.73 per share, for a total transaction of $1,087,300.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 6,738,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $732,711,572.41. The trade was a 0.15% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock traded up $0.66 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $109.74. 2,216,146 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,737,842. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $121.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $126.99. The company has a market capitalization of $190.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.75. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $105.27 and a 12 month high of $141.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.70.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50. The firm had revenue of $11.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.80 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 17.94% and a net margin of 14.72%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.34 EPS. Abbott Laboratories has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.120-1.180 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 5.550-5.800 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 15th will be given a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 15th. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. This is an increase from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 67.74%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ABT. IMG Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 759.1% in the second quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 189 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Guerra Advisors Inc bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Anfield Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 81.3% during the second quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC now owns 232 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on ABT. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $144.00 to $138.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Freedom Capital raised shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $150.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, William Blair raised shares of Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $137.05.

About Abbott Laboratories

Abbott Laboratories is a global healthcare company headquartered in Abbott Park, Illinois, that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of medical products and services. Founded in 1888, Abbott operates through multiple business areas that focus on diagnostics, medical devices, nutritionals and established pharmaceuticals. The company supplies hospitals, clinics, laboratories, retailers and direct-to-consumer channels with products intended to diagnose, treat and manage a wide range of health conditions.

In diagnostics, Abbott provides laboratory and point-of-care testing platforms and assays used to detect infectious diseases, chronic conditions and biomarkers; its Alinity family of instruments and rapid-test solutions are examples of this capability.