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

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) had its target price lifted by equities research analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $130.00 to $135.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the healthcare product maker’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price target suggests a potential upside of 7.90% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Raymond James restated a “buy” rating and set a $129.00 price objective (up from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 price target on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $132.50.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

NYSE:ABT opened at $125.12 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $115.07 and its 200-day moving average is $113.15. The stock has a market cap of $217.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.73. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $99.71 and a 1-year high of $125.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.34. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The firm had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11,029,400 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Insight Folios Inc raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.3% in the third quarter. Insight Folios Inc now owns 2,691 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $307,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Sfmg LLC increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% in the third quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 4,622 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $527,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. River Street Advisors LLC raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. River Street Advisors LLC now owns 7,370 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $834,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Boltwood Capital Management increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% during the third quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 21,821 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $2,488,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 3,153 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $359,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. 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.