Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $120.64.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Raymond James reissued a “buy” rating and set a $124.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $121.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $125.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $119.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.57, for a total transaction of $1,055,843.29. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 211,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,099,928.37. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.57, for a total transaction of $1,055,843.29. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 211,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,099,928.37. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 22,852 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.25, for a total transaction of $2,428,025.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 61,462 shares in the company, valued at $6,530,337.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter valued at $30,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1,677.8% in the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 320 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of ABT opened at $104.65 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $104.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $110.13. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $89.67 and a 52 week high of $121.64. The stock has a market cap of $182.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.74.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $9.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.88 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.96%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.03 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 15th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.