Wells Fargo & Company Increases Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Price Target to $147.00

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) had its price target upped by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $136.00 to $147.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the healthcare product maker’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 12.21% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on ABT. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $142.59.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $131.00 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $130.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $121.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $227.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.12, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.80. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $99.71 and a 12 month high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.02. The company 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%. As a group, analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.82, for a total value of $12,199,967.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 71,928 shares in the company, valued at $9,625,404.96. This trade represents a 55.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total value of $131,123.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 74,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,277,222.77. The trade was a 1.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 116,449 shares of company stock valued at $15,463,316. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ABT. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 period. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.