Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Receives $137.19 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $137.94.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ABT. Citigroup upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. StockNews.com lowered Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 3.5 %

Shares of NYSE ABT opened at $132.57 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $229.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.33, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $99.71 and a 52-week high of $141.23. The business’s 50 day moving average is $126.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $119.13.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34. The company had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.03 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.19 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total transaction of $3,054,573.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,152,064.50. This represents a 15.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction of $77,651.54. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 31,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,417,294.90. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 116,449 shares of company stock worth $15,463,316 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Lighthouse Financial LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $632,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 24,736 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $2,820,000 after purchasing an additional 386 shares in the last quarter. TFR Capital LLC. purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $217,000. Smith Shellnut Wilson LLC ADV raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Smith Shellnut Wilson LLC ADV now owns 5,454 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $617,000 after purchasing an additional 641 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 58,605 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $6,611,000 after purchasing an additional 2,947 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.