Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Stock Price Down 0.3% - Here's Why

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) traded down 0.3% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $117.37 and last traded at $117.44. 726,296 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 5,705,569 shares. The stock had previously closed at $117.82.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ABT. Piper Sandler Companies began coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $131.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $107.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Oppenheimer began coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $130.00 target price on the stock. Edward Jones cut Abbott Laboratories from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $129.67.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

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 stock has a market cap of $205.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $113.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $108.47.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.55 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.65%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.14 EPS. Research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 EPS for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.54%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the company's 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 owns 220,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,617,068.19. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Abbott Laboratories

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BDF Gestion bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $7,651,000. Dundas Partners LLP raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.1% in the second quarter. Dundas Partners LLP now owns 330,227 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $34,313,000 after purchasing an additional 6,897 shares during the period. Duality Advisers LP acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter worth about $5,634,000. Oak Harvest Investment Services boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 32.7% during the 1st quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services now owns 73,651 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $8,371,000 after buying an additional 18,131 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 40.3% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 49,483 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $5,624,000 after buying an additional 14,215 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by 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.