Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Receives $142.59 Average PT from Brokerages

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the nineteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, fourteen have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $142.59.

ABT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:ABT traded down $0.49 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $128.90. 4,849,055 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,073,198. The company has a market cap of $223.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.80. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $130.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $122.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.60 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.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) 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 net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The firm had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.38 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.83%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is presently 30.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 value of $131,123.33. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,381 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,277,222.77. This represents a 1.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of Abbott Laboratories 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 quarter, insiders sold 116,449 shares of company stock worth $15,463,316. Insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% during the fourth 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 stake in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Hedge funds and other 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.