Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $121.31.

ABT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $124.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. TheStreet upgraded Abbott Laboratories from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Thursday, December 21st. Citigroup increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total transaction of $4,781,250.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 65,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,315,537.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 963 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $114,115.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at $14,895,094.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total value of $4,781,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 65,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,315,537.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 56,435 shares of company stock valued at $6,451,298. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT now owns 25,085 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,761,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC now owns 12,287 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,352,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Avion Wealth boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 19.4% during the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 591 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Patriot Investment Management Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Patriot Investment Management Group Inc. now owns 3,236 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $356,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Finally, Wynn Capital LLC boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 3,427 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $390,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABT opened at $105.27 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $89.67 and a 1-year high of $121.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $182.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.74. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $114.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $107.57.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 14.27% and a return on equity of 20.65%. The firm had revenue of $9.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.88 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.03 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 67.48%.

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.