Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Stock Price Crosses Above 200-Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)’s share price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $111.93 and traded as high as $114.64. Abbott Laboratories shares last traded at $112.80, with a volume of 3,475,766 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Mizuho boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $131.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $130.71.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $195.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.29, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.73. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $115.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $111.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly 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 13.99% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The firm had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.09%. This is an increase from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 71.73%.

Institutional Trading of Abbott Laboratories

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Groupama Asset Managment increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 22.2% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 228,448 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 41,557 shares during the period. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% in the 3rd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 289 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.