Erste Group Bank Issues Optimistic Forecast for ABT Earnings

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) – Investment analysts at Erste Group Bank boosted their FY2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Abbott Laboratories in a report released on Monday, July 27th. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now anticipates that the healthcare product maker will post earnings per share of $5.52 for the year, up from their prior forecast of $5.47. The consensus estimate for Abbott Laboratories’ current full-year earnings is $5.52 per share.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on ABT. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $102.00 in a report on Friday, June 12th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Friday, July 17th. Daiwa Securities Group downgraded Abbott Laboratories from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $92.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $109.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $118.17.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 0.8%

ABT stock opened at $108.15 on Thursday. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $81.97 and a twelve month high of $137.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $188.38 billion, a PE ratio of 35.00, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.61. 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 stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $92.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $100.73.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.03. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 17.65% and a net margin of 11.65%.The company had revenue of $12.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.26 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Abbott Laboratories has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.380-1.46 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 5.450-5.60 EPS.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nia Impact Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.2% in the second quarter. Nia Impact Advisors LLC now owns 3,706 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $504,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. Clayton Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC now owns 6,217 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $779,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 15,854 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,986,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,287 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $287,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 9.3% during the 2nd quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 1,031 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $140,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 15th will be given a dividend of $0.63 per share. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 81.55%.

Trending Headlines about Abbott Laboratories

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

• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group Bank raised its FY2026 EPS estimate for Abbott Laboratories (ABT) to $5.52 from $5.47, in line with consensus. The firm also nudged its FY2027 forecast higher to $6.06 from $6.05, reinforcing expectations for continued earnings growth. Erste Group Bank earnings estimate update
• Positive Sentiment: UBS maintained a Buy rating on ABT, despite reducing its price target to $125 from $135. The revised target still implies meaningful upside from the referenced $108.15 share price, indicating that UBS continues to view Abbott’s fundamentals favorably. UBS Abbott price target update
• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen reiterated a Buy rating and a $115 price target, citing a strengthening nutrition franchise and 2026 growth drivers. This adds to the positive analyst support following Abbott’s recent earnings beat. TD Cowen Abbott Buy rating
• Positive Sentiment: Abbott has begun a study of approximately 1,000 patients to assess the real-world safety and performance of its TriClip heart-valve repair system. The study could help support adoption and competitiveness against Edwards Lifesciences, although it also highlights increasing competition in the market. Abbott TriClip study
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent coverage continues to highlight Abbott’s exposure to diabetes care, oncology diagnostics, nutrition and cardiovascular devices. These are attractive long-term growth areas, but the reports provide limited new financial information beyond the company’s existing strategy. Abbott growth opportunities
• Negative Sentiment: UBS’s reduction of its price target from $135 to $125 signals more measured near-term valuation expectations. Although the Buy rating was retained, the target cut may limit enthusiasm, particularly given ABT’s elevated valuation relative to its historical trading range. UBS lowers Abbott expectations

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.