Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) have earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eighteen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $137.19.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on ABT shares. StockNews.com cut Abbott Laboratories from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Argus raised Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total transaction of $3,054,573.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,152,064.50. The trade was a 15.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction of $131,123.33. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,381 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,277,222.77. This represents a 1.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 25,282 shares of company stock valued at $3,263,348 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Abbott Laboratories

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ABT. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 22.2% during the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 228,448 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 41,557 shares in the last quarter. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% during the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 239 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.1 %

ABT stock traded up $0.10 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $137.68. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,155,906 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,485,037. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.60. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $124.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $118.28. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $99.71 and a 1 year high of $141.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $238.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.00, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.75.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The business had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.19 EPS. The business's revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is 30.85%.

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.