Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Stock Price Down 0.4% - Should You Sell?

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) shares dropped 0.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $116.57 and last traded at $116.57. Approximately 435,211 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 92% from the average daily volume of 5,706,972 shares. The stock had previously closed at $117.01.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on ABT. Barclays upped their price target 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. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Piper Sandler Companies assumed coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $131.00 target price on the stock. Edward Jones lowered shares of Abbott Laboratories from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $131.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. 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 MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $129.67.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 0.4 %

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $114.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $108.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.68. The firm has a market cap of $202.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72.

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

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.54%.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.41, for a total value of $16,492,852.39. Following the completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter worth about $30,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter worth approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

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.