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

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) has been given an average rating of "Moderate Buy" by the twelve ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $124.33.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ABT. Citigroup raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Edward Jones cut Abbott Laboratories from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Barclays raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler Companies began coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $131.00 price objective on the stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Trading of Abbott Laboratories

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Abbott Laboratories stock traded up $0.41 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $112.64. 4,366,288 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,757,640. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.18. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $112.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $108.16. The company has a market capitalization of $195.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.09, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.72. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $89.67 and a 12-month high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $10.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.37 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.65%. Abbott Laboratories's revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is presently 68.54%.

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.