Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $113.37, but opened at $119.75. Abbott Laboratories shares last traded at $118.79, with a volume of 1,363,795 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $107.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $129.67.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 4.6 %

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $114.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $108.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $206.35 billion, a PE ratio of 36.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.01. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.99% and a return on equity of 20.30%. The business had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.14 EPS. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 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 1.85%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is 66.87%.

Insider Activity

In other Abbott Laboratories news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $25,617,068.19. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Carr Financial Group Corp lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Carr Financial Group Corp now owns 3,785 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $432,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 163,218 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $18,608,000 after purchasing an additional 9,322 shares during the last quarter. Essex Savings Bank boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 14.6% during the 3rd quarter. Essex Savings Bank now owns 5,731 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $653,000 after purchasing an additional 731 shares during the period. Carmel Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,541 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $404,000 after buying an additional 254 shares during the period. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.6% during the third quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 10,301 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,174,000 after buying an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.