Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Trading Down 3.2% – Time to Sell?

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)’s share price fell 3.2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $84.08 and last traded at $84.2350. 10,757,104 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 9% from the average session volume of 11,826,294 shares. The stock had previously closed at $87.01.

Abbott Laboratories News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Abbott’s Medical Devices segment delivered 8.5% Q1 growth, with electrophysiology, rhythm management, and heart failure products driving gains. That reinforces the company’s long-term growth story and suggests its device portfolio remains a key catalyst for ABT. Abbott’s Medical Device Strategy Supports Long-Term Growth Outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street analysts remain bullish on Abbott Laboratories despite its recent underperformance versus the broader market, which can help cushion sentiment around the stock. Abbott Laboratories Stock: Analyst Estimates & Ratings
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo reaffirmed its Buy rating on ABT, adding to the view that analysts still see upside potential despite near-term weakness. Wells Fargo Reaffirms Their Buy Rating on Abbott Laboratories (ABT)
• Neutral Sentiment: Erste Group Bank slightly lowered its FY2026 EPS estimate for Abbott to $5.47 from $5.48, which is only a minor change and close to consensus, so the impact looks limited. Abbott Laboratories news item referencing Erste Group Bank estimate reduction
• Negative Sentiment: ABT has underperformed over the past year, and recent share-price weakness has kept investors focused on whether the stock is now cheap rather than on a strong near-term rebound. Is Abbott Laboratories (ABT) Now Offering Value After Recent Share Price Weakness?

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ABT. Freedom Capital raised shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Benchmark cut their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Barclays cut their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $144.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $123.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $119.43.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 3.2%

The company has a market capitalization of $146.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.60, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.65. 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 company has a 50 day simple moving average of $102.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $115.09.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $11.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.99 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 17.62% and a net margin of 13.90%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.09 EPS. 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. As a group, equities analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.48 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be paid a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.59%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Daniel J. Starks purchased 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $92.65 per share, for a total transaction of $926,500.00. Following the acquisition, 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 position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Eric Shroff sold 709 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.58, for a total transaction of $81,946.22. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 39,164 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,526,575.12. The trade was a 1.78% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 3,055 shares of company stock worth $353,097 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth approximately $116,580,000. Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter worth $185,640,000. AE Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 20.8% during the third quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 65,504 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $8,774,000 after buying an additional 11,264 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 6.1% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 329,430 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $43,785,000 after buying an additional 18,974 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mawer Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,255,780 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $168,199,000 after acquiring an additional 70,122 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is 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.