Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the nineteen analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, fourteen have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $142.59.

Several brokerages recently commented on ABT. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. StockNews.com cut shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $145.00 price target (up previously from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:ABT opened at $134.79 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $234.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.74. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $129.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $124.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $99.71 and a 12-month high of $141.23.

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

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th were paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 30.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total transaction of $337,116.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 34,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,415,960.28. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.82, for a total transaction of $12,199,967.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 71,928 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,625,404.96. This represents a 55.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 95,278 shares of company stock valued at $12,745,859. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Abbott Laboratories

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Woodline Partners LP lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 107.7% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 110,092 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $14,604,000 after purchasing an additional 57,077 shares in the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 5,771.1% during the 1st quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 1,115,514 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $147,973,000 after acquiring an additional 1,096,514 shares during the period. American Trust boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. American Trust now owns 30,753 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $4,079,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 4.7% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 50,724 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $6,729,000 after acquiring an additional 2,266 shares during the period. Finally, MBB Public Markets I LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter valued at approximately $332,000. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

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.