Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Stock Price Down 0.1%

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)’s share price traded down 0.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $112.10 and last traded at $112.46. 716,630 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 5,798,473 shares. The stock had previously closed at $112.61.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Edward Jones lowered Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $120.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $121.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler Companies began coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $124.00.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $111.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $108.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $195.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.72.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $10.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.37 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.65%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be given a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is 68.54%.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $25,617,068.19. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% during the second quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 52,728 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $5,479,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 920.4% during the 2nd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 386,000 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $40,109,000 after purchasing an additional 348,170 shares during the period. Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter. Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group now owns 12,193 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,267,000 after buying an additional 774 shares during the last quarter. SS&H Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 9.1% in the 2nd quarter. SS&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 17,633 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,832,000 after buying an additional 1,475 shares during the period. Finally, Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter worth approximately $453,000. 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.