Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Down 1.1% – Here’s Why

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) was down 1.1% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $114.70 and last traded at $115.26. Approximately 912,690 shares traded hands 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on ABT shares. 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 objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $129.67.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 2.1 %

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $114.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $108.67. The company has a market cap of $198.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.91, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced 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 business had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.55 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.65% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.14 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.41, for a total value 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 approximately $25,617,068.19. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BDF Gestion purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter worth $7,651,000. Dundas Partners LLP boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Dundas Partners LLP now owns 330,227 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $34,313,000 after purchasing an additional 6,897 shares in the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter worth $5,634,000. Oak Harvest Investment Services boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 32.7% during the 1st quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services now owns 73,651 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $8,371,000 after purchasing an additional 18,131 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 40.3% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 49,483 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $5,624,000 after purchasing an additional 14,215 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.