Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Price Target Raised to $145.00 at Stifel Nicolaus

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) had its target price hoisted by research analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $135.00 to $145.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the healthcare product maker’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price target would suggest a potential upside of 10.68% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on ABT. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $142.59.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $131.00 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.60. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $99.71 and a fifty-two week high of $141.23. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $130.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $121.84. The company has a market capitalization of $227.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.12, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.80.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.38 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. On average, analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total value of $3,054,573.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,152,064.50. The trade was a 15.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction of $131,123.33. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,381 shares in the company, valued at $10,277,222.77. This trade represents a 1.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 116,449 shares of company stock valued at $15,463,316. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Abbott Laboratories

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% in the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 239 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.