Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Downgraded to “Neutral” Rating by Daiwa Securities Group

Daiwa Securities Group cut shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) from an outperform rating to a neutral rating in a research report released on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $92.00 price objective on the healthcare product maker’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on ABT. UBS Group dropped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Argus dropped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 17th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $137.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $119.43.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $91.78 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $106.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $117.81. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $91.59 and a 52-week high of $139.06. The firm has a market cap of $159.85 billion, a PE ratio of 25.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.58.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.01. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 17.71% and a net margin of 13.90%.The business had revenue of $11.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.09 EPS. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Abbott Laboratories has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.380-5.580 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 1.250-1.310 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be paid a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 70.59%.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Elizabeth C. Cushman sold 263 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.58, for a total value of $30,397.54. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 38,573 shares in the company, valued at $4,458,267.34. This trade represents a 0.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Mary K. Moreland sold 613 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.58, for a total value of $70,850.54. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 104,291 shares in the company, valued at $12,053,953.78. The trade was a 0.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,055 shares of company stock valued at $353,097. 0.46% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Gemmer Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Gemmer Asset Management LLC now owns 2,750 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $368,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC now owns 2,469 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $331,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Citizens & Northern Corp increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Citizens & Northern Corp now owns 21,875 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $2,930,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. American National Bank of Texas increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. American National Bank of Texas now owns 3,408 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $427,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nia Impact Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Nia Impact Advisors LLC now owns 3,706 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $504,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Abbott Laboratories

Here are the key news stories impacting Abbott Laboratories this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Dividend/income stories are drawing buyer interest — multiple outlets highlight a near-3% dividend yield and buy-the-dip arguments for this dividend king, which can attract income-focused investors and support the share price. Abbott Laboratories Just Got Interesting: Dividend Yield Near 3% Signals Opportunity
• Positive Sentiment: Additional buy-the-dip commentary from retail/investor media emphasizes long-term fundamentals and steady dividend cashflow as reasons to accumulate, providing some demand at lower prices. Abbott Laboratories: Buy The Dip On This Dividend King
• Positive Sentiment: UBS reiterated a Buy rating on ABT (despite lowering its price target), which signals continued institutional conviction in Abbott’s longer-term prospects and may cap downside from short-term selling. UBS Sticks to Their Buy Rating for Abbott Laboratories (ABT)
• Positive Sentiment: Sector tailwinds: a large industry report forecasts rapid long-term growth for IoT/connected medical devices — a positive backdrop for Abbott’s device and diagnostics businesses over the next decade. IoT Medical Devices Market Research and Global Forecast Report 2026-2036
• Neutral Sentiment: Options market activity has picked up, prompting speculation of an imminent move; this can amplify intraday volatility but is ambiguous on direction. Is the Options Market Predicting a Spike in Abbott Laboratories Stock?
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage noting ABT as “most oversold” in the healthcare group highlights technical conditions that could prompt short-term rebounds or continued mean reversion — not a definitive catalyst. Abbott is the most oversold healthcare stock as Q1 earnings roll on
• Neutral Sentiment: Heightened investor attention (search/traffic spikes) signals retail/institutional focus but does not predetermine direction; could increase volume and volatility. Investors Heavily Search Abbott Laboratories (ABT): Here is What You Need to Know
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrade: Daiwa cut ABT from Outperform to Neutral and set a $92 PT — this increases near-term selling pressure, especially given the PT is close to current levels. Finviz (Daiwa downgrade)
• Negative Sentiment: Several firms trimmed price targets (Argus, Leerink; UBS also cut its target while keeping Buy) and Barclays lowered expectations — collectively these lower benchmarks reduce upside perception and likely contributed to today’s downward pressure. UBS adjusts Abbott price target
• Negative Sentiment: Media stories pointing out ABT trading near 52-week lows — even with analyst optimism — can prompt profit-taking by momentum traders and feed negative sentiment. Wall Street Refuses to Blink: 2 Healthcare Stocks at 52-Week Lows That Analysts Still Love

Abbott Laboratories Company Profile

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.