Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Price Target Increased to $138.00 by Analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) had its price target boosted by Sanford C. Bernstein from $133.00 to $138.00 in a report released on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the healthcare product maker's stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $130.00 price target for the company. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $129.67.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE ABT traded up $0.08 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $117.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,046,874 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,727,064. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $91.64 and a 52 week high of $121.64. The company has a market capitalization of $205.10 billion, a PE ratio of 36.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $113.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $108.40.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.01. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.65% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The business had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is presently 68.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.41, for a total transaction of $16,492,852.39. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 220,059 shares in the company, valued at $25,617,068.19. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter worth about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

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.