Brokerages Set Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Target Price at $120.64

Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) have been given an average rating of "Moderate Buy" by the ten analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $120.64.

ABT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $121.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $119.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of ABT stock traded down $0.71 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $103.94. 8,283,252 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,707,569. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $89.67 and a 12-month high of $121.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The company has a market cap of $180.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.74. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $104.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $110.13.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $9.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.88 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.96%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.03 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, July 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is currently 68.54%.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.57, for a total value of $1,055,843.29. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 211,341 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,099,928.37. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 22,852 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.25, for a total transaction of $2,428,025.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 61,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,530,337.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.57, for a total value of $1,055,843.29. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 211,341 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,099,928.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dark Forest Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter valued at about $310,000. Morningstar Investment Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter worth about $250,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.5% in the third quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 5,420 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $525,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter worth about $511,000. Finally, Caxton Associates LP boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 6.7% in the third quarter. Caxton Associates LP now owns 13,401 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $1,298,000 after buying an additional 844 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.