Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) have earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the nineteen analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $142.59.

Several research firms have commented on ABT. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 1.1%

ABT stock opened at $134.79 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $234.51 billion, a PE ratio of 17.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $99.71 and a twelve month high of $141.23. The stock's 50 day moving average is $129.36 and its 200-day moving average is $124.17.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The business had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.38 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th were given a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Abbott Laboratories news, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total value of $77,651.54. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,970 shares in the company, valued at $4,417,294.90. This represents a 1.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total transaction of $337,116.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 34,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,415,960.28. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 95,278 shares of company stock valued at $12,745,859. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Abbott Laboratories

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ABT. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 169,823,136 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $22,527,039,000 after buying an additional 1,177,739 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 67,972,953 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $7,688,160,000 after purchasing an additional 2,229,026 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 54,097,005 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $6,118,903,000 after purchasing an additional 795,073 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,668,834 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $4,023,027,000 after purchasing an additional 765,636 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 12.8% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 29,763,415 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $3,948,117,000 after buying an additional 3,371,113 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

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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