Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Receives $124.33 Average PT from Analysts

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the thirteen analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $125.15.

Several research firms have commented on ABT. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 target price on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Edward Jones downgraded Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $120.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, September 26th.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of ABT stock opened at $115.62 on Friday. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $89.67 and a one year high of $121.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.68. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $112.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $108.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $201.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.72.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.04. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.65% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The business had revenue of $10.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.54%.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.41, for a total value of $16,492,852.39. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,617,068.19. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.10% 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. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 75,157 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $8,273,000 after acquiring an additional 3,062 shares in the last quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 60,710 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $6,682,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares during the period. Waterloo Capital L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $729,000. Personal CFO Solutions LLC lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 15,264 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,680,000 after purchasing an additional 856 shares during the period. Finally, Ossiam raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Ossiam now owns 37,752 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $4,155,000 after buying an additional 2,514 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Company Profile

Abbott Laboratories, together with its subsidiaries, discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells health care products worldwide. It operates in four segments: Established Pharmaceutical Products, Diagnostic Products, Nutritional Products, and Medical Devices. The company provides generic pharmaceuticals for the treatment of pancreatic exocrine insufficiency, irritable bowel syndrome or biliary spasm, intrahepatic cholestasis or depressive symptoms, gynecological disorder, hormone replacement therapy, dyslipidemia, hypertension, hypothyroidism, Ménière's disease and vestibular vertigo, pain, fever, inflammation, and migraine, as well as provides anti-infective clarithromycin, influenza vaccine, and products to regulate physiological rhythm of the colon.