Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Rating Increased to Buy at Jefferies Financial Group

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm currently has a $145.00 price target on the healthcare product maker’s stock, up from their previous price target of $143.00. Jefferies Financial Group’s price target suggests a potential upside of 20.08% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on ABT. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Abbott Laboratories to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Leerink Partners started coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, June 16th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $143.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. 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. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.79.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 8.3%

Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $120.76 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $210.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.73. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $99.71 and a 12 month high of $141.23. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $133.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $129.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.26. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.89% and a return on equity of 19.01%. The company had revenue of $11.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.14 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the business’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 sale, the director owned 34,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,415,960.28. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter worth $27,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Elequin Capital LP acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 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.