Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Stifel Nicolaus Analyst Says

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) had its price target hoisted by Stifel Nicolaus from $135.00 to $145.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the healthcare product maker's stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on ABT. Argus raised Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $142.59.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 1.0 %

Abbott Laboratories stock traded up $1.24 during trading on Thursday, hitting $131.13. 2,538,934 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,013,577. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $99.71 and a 52 week high of $141.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market capitalization of $227.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.14, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.80. The business's 50 day moving average is $130.61 and its 200 day moving average is $122.08.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.38 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. Analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is currently 30.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction of $131,123.33. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 74,381 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,277,222.77. This trade represents a 1.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.82, for a total value of $12,199,967.94. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 71,928 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,625,404.96. The trade was a 55.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 116,449 shares of company stock valued at $15,463,316. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Abbott Laboratories

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ABT. Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter valued at about $380,000. Tudor Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter valued at approximately $302,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 54,237 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $6,184,000 after acquiring an additional 1,509 shares during the period. Fulcrum Equity Management bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter valued at about $239,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 32.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 332,189 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $37,873,000 after acquiring an additional 81,669 shares during the period. 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.