Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Trading 0.2% Higher – Still a Buy?

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) was up 0.2% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $114.77 and last traded at $114.50. Approximately 700,520 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 5,700,284 shares. The stock had previously closed at $114.22.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on ABT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Piper Sandler Companies initiated coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $131.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $129.67.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $198.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $114.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $108.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.68.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.01. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.65%. The firm had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.14 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is presently 68.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Abbott Laboratories news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.41, for a total transaction of $16,492,852.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,617,068.19. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BDF Gestion purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter worth about $7,651,000. Dundas Partners LLP grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Dundas Partners LLP now owns 330,227 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $34,313,000 after purchasing an additional 6,897 shares during the period. Duality Advisers LP purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter valued at $5,634,000. Oak Harvest Investment Services boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 32.7% in the 1st quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services now owns 73,651 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $8,371,000 after buying an additional 18,131 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 40.3% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 49,483 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $5,624,000 after buying an additional 14,215 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Abbott Laboratories

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.