Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Trading Down 1.1% - Here's What Happened

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report)'s stock price was down 1.1% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $114.70 and last traded at $115.26. Approximately 912,690 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 5,699,912 shares. The stock had previously closed at $116.54.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ABT. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $130.00 price target on the stock. 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 research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $129.67.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

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 has a 50 day moving average of $114.57 and a 200 day moving average of $108.67. The company has a market cap of $198.70 billion, a PE ratio of 35.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $10.64 billion during 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.14 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is 68.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,617,068.19. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Abbott Laboratories

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter worth $30,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by 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.