Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Leerink Partners

Research analysts at Leerink Partners started coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The firm set a "market perform" rating and a $143.00 price target on the healthcare product maker's stock. Leerink Partners' target price would indicate a potential upside of 5.61% from the company's previous close.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on ABT. Bank of America increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Barclays increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $142.61.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $135.41 on Monday. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $99.71 and a 52-week high of $141.23. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $131.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $126.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $235.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.73.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The firm had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.38 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total value of $337,116.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 34,058 shares in the company, valued at $4,415,960.28. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. eCIO Inc. bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter valued at about $155,000. Cim LLC boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 4.2% during the first quarter. Cim LLC now owns 17,686 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $2,346,000 after purchasing an additional 719 shares during the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 49.8% in the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 331 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 11.4% during the 1st quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 44,879 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $5,953,000 after purchasing an additional 4,608 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nova Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter valued at $50,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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