Abbott Laboratories Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:ABT)

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) saw some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Investors purchased 22,017 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 73% compared to the typical volume of 12,690 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on ABT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com downgraded Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Argus raised Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $137.19.

Insider Activity

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total transaction of $3,054,573.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,152,064.50. The trade was a 15.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total value of $131,123.33. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,381 shares in the company, valued at $10,277,222.77. This trade represents a 1.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 25,282 shares of company stock valued at $3,263,348. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Abbott Laboratories

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 12.5% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 20,714 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $2,361,000 after purchasing an additional 2,308 shares during the last quarter. Optas LLC grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 13.4% during the third quarter. Optas LLC now owns 4,105 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $468,000 after buying an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Janney Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.3% during the third quarter. Janney Capital Management LLC now owns 21,722 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $2,477,000 after buying an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.2% in the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 614,361 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $70,043,000 after acquiring an additional 7,316 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Confluence Wealth Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 14,909 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,700,000 after acquiring an additional 1,021 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:ABT opened at $137.65 on Wednesday. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average is $124.05 and its 200-day moving average is $118.28. The company has a market cap of $238.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.75. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $99.71 and a 52-week high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.34. The business had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.03 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. Abbott Laboratories’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.19 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.71%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.85%.

About Abbott Laboratories

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.