Barclays Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Stock

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) had its target price raised by Barclays from $143.00 to $149.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the healthcare product maker’s stock. Barclays‘s target price would indicate a potential upside of 27.60% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on ABT. Piper Sandler Companies initiated coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $107.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Oppenheimer began coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 price target for the company. Finally, Edward Jones lowered shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $130.07.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABT opened at $116.77 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.60. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $115.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $109.08. The stock has a market cap of $202.53 billion, a PE ratio of 35.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.72. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $92.43 and a one year high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.55 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.99%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.14 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 220,059 shares in the company, valued at $25,617,068.19. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Abbott Laboratories

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter worth $404,000. Csenge Advisory Group increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 6.7% in the first quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 18,731 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,129,000 after buying an additional 1,182 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 1.6% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 9,877 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,123,000 after buying an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Hemenway Trust Co LLC grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Hemenway Trust Co LLC now owns 342,963 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $38,981,000 after acquiring an additional 8,477 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Broderick Brian C increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. Broderick Brian C now owns 108,284 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $12,308,000 after acquiring an additional 7,360 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.