Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Down 0.3% – Should You Sell?

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)’s share price dropped 0.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $117.37 and last traded at $117.44. Approximately 726,296 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 5,705,569 shares. The stock had previously closed at $117.82.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $107.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. Edward Jones downgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $129.67.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $207.69 billion, a PE ratio of 37.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $113.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $108.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.18.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.55 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.65% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The business’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.14 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company 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. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is 68.54%.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 220,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,617,068.19. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BDF Gestion bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter worth approximately $7,651,000. Dundas Partners LLP grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.1% in the second 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 during the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter valued at $5,634,000. Oak Harvest Investment Services increased its position in 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 valued at $8,371,000 after purchasing an additional 18,131 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 40.3% in 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. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

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.