Abbott Laboratories (ABT) Expected to Announce Earnings on Wednesday

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) is expected to issue its quarterly earnings data before the market opens on Wednesday, April 16th. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $1.07 per share and revenue of $10.38 billion for the quarter. Investors interested in participating in the company's conference call can do so using this link.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The company had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.19 EPS. Abbott Laboratories's revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect Abbott Laboratories to post $5 EPS for the current fiscal year and $6 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 1.9 %

ABT traded up $2.34 during trading on Friday, reaching $126.84. 7,355,410 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,003,334. The stock has a market capitalization of $219.98 billion, a PE ratio of 16.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.80. 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 one year low of $99.71 and a one year high of $141.23. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $130.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $121.34.

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Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.85%.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction of $131,123.33. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,381 shares in the company, valued at $10,277,222.77. This represents a 1.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated 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 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 116,449 shares of company stock valued at $15,463,316. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Abbott Laboratories stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 10.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 51,719 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after purchasing an additional 4,755 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $5,850,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $158.00 price objective (up from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $137.94.

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.