Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $133.06.

Several brokerages have commented on ABT. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 price target (up from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Argus upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st.

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 dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at $16,152,064.50. This represents 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. 0.47% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 216,787 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $24,521,000 after acquiring an additional 23,023 shares in the last quarter. Natural Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at $4,731,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 24,975 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $2,825,000 after acquiring an additional 621 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Miller Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $791,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 0.7 %

NYSE ABT opened at $129.11 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.60. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $99.71 and a 52 week high of $132.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $223.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.74. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $117.25 and a 200-day moving average of $114.93.

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

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.83%. This is a boost from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.85%.

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.