Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Stock Price Down 0.6%

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) shares dropped 0.6% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $115.59 and last traded at $115.87. Approximately 407,871 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 93% from the average daily volume of 5,819,070 shares. The stock had previously closed at $116.60.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $121.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $125.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Edward Jones lowered shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.80.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 0.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.68. The company has a market cap of $203.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.72. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $108.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $108.69.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its 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. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.65% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The company had revenue of $10.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 15th were given a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 68.54%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 6.8% during 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 acquiring an additional 774 shares during the period. SS&H Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 9.1% during the 2nd quarter. SS&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 17,633 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,832,000 after acquiring an additional 1,475 shares during the period. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $453,000. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,603,000. Finally, Cim LLC grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter. Cim LLC now owns 16,850 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,906,000 after acquiring an additional 1,140 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.