Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Reaches New 12-Month High - Should You Buy?

Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $132.85 and last traded at $132.92, with a volume of 547305 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $132.13.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com cut Abbott Laboratories from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Argus raised shares of Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $133.06.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $234.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.75. The business has a 50 day moving average of $120.32 and a 200 day moving average of $116.65. 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 (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34. The firm had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.03 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. Abbott Laboratories's revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is 30.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at $16,152,064.50. The trade was a 15.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Welch Group LLC increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 68,653 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $7,744,000 after purchasing an additional 3,479 shares during the period. Bath Savings Trust Co increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co now owns 166,132 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $18,791,000 after buying an additional 5,881 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 152,719 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $17,274,000 after buying an additional 2,774 shares in the last quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 67.3% in the 3rd quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. now owns 14,083 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $1,606,000 after buying an additional 5,664 shares during the period. Finally, Pensionfund Sabic bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth about $2,828,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.