Evercore ISI Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Stock

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) had its price objective upped by Evercore ISI to $136.00 in a report issued on Thursday morning,Stock Target Advisor reports. Evercore ISI currently has a buy rating on the healthcare product maker's stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Piper Sandler Companies initiated coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $131.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $131.57.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE ABT traded up $0.33 on Thursday, hitting $113.44. 3,562,153 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,594,505. The company has a market capitalization of $196.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.73. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $115.54 and a 200 day moving average of $112.07. 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 twelve month low of $99.71 and a twelve month high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.01. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.99%. The firm had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.55 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.14 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. This is a boost from Abbott Laboratories's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 71.73%.

Institutional Trading of Abbott Laboratories

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Insight Folios Inc lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Insight Folios Inc now owns 2,691 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $307,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Sfmg LLC boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 4,622 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $527,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Boltwood Capital Management increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 21,821 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $2,488,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 3,153 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $359,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. Finally, Silicon Valley Capital Partners lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 8.7% during the third quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 1,108 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $126,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.