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

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors bought 20,696 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 61% compared to the typical daily volume of 12,856 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ABT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Argus upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Bank of America increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 target price (up from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $137.94.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of ABT stock opened at $131.67 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The company has a market capitalization of $228.35 billion, a PE ratio of 17.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $129.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $120.24. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $99.71 and a 12 month high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34. The firm had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.79%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.85%.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total value of $3,054,573.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,152,064.50. This represents a 15.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total value of $77,651.54. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 31,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,417,294.90. The trade was a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 116,449 shares of company stock worth $15,463,316 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Cim LLC boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Cim LLC now owns 16,967 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,919,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 1,236 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $140,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Capital Square LLC increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital Square LLC now owns 2,941 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $368,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC now owns 954 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $107,000 after buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LMG Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. LMG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,161 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $244,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently 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.