Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) reached a new 52-week low on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $86.16 and last traded at $87.1760, with a volume of 17186453 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $87.54.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore dropped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $134.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Benchmark dropped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Daiwa Securities Group lowered Abbott Laboratories from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $92.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Argus dropped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $144.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Two 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $119.43.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The business has a 50 day moving average of $103.83 and a 200 day moving average of $115.68. The company has a market capitalization of $151.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.65.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 17.62% and a net margin of 13.90%.The business had revenue of $11.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.09 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue 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, sell-side analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is 70.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, CFO Philip P. Boudreau acquired 2,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $91.50 per share, for a total transaction of $201,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 2,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $201,300. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Daniel J. Starks acquired 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The shares were bought at an average price of $92.65 per share, for a total transaction of $926,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,751,103 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $625,489,692.95. This trade represents a 0.15% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,055 shares of company stock valued at $353,097. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ABT. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 51,719 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $5,850,000 after buying an additional 4,755 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.5% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,768 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $648,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the period. United Bank raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 7.4% in the second quarter. United Bank now owns 29,004 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $3,945,000 after buying an additional 2,001 shares during the period. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 13.6% in the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 11,894 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,618,000 after buying an additional 1,428 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 25.6% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,435,683 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $195,267,000 after buying an additional 292,547 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.