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

Key Points

• Abbott Laboratories has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from 22 research firms, with 16 analysts rating it as a buy and 2 as a strong buy.
• The company's recent earnings report showed a 6.9% increase in quarterly revenue year-over-year, with EPS of $1.30, matching analysts' estimates.
• Abbott Laboratories announced a quarterly dividend of $0.59 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 1.8%.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-two research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, sixteen have given a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $146.1667.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $147.00 to $142.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Abbott Laboratories from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $143.00 to $145.00 in a report on Friday, July 18th. BTIG Research decreased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $148.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, William Blair upgraded Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 2.9%

Shares of ABT stock opened at $129.35 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $225.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.69. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $110.86 and a one year high of $141.23. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $132.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $131.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.82 and a quick ratio of 1.30.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.30. The firm had revenue of $11.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.40 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 18.32% and a net margin of 32.43%.Abbott Laboratories's quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.21 earnings per share. Abbott Laboratories has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.120-5.180 EPS. Analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 15th will be given a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is currently 29.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Abbott Laboratories news, CFO Philip P. Boudreau sold 5,550 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.55, for a total transaction of $746,752.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 51,003 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,862,453.65. This represents a 9.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ABT. CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 272,990 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $36,564,000 after purchasing an additional 7,523 shares in the last quarter. BSW Wealth Partners raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 12,698 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $1,701,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the period. Clayton Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter valued at $821,000. Whitener Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Whitener Capital Management Inc. now owns 27,718 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $3,713,000 after buying an additional 1,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gemmer Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Gemmer Asset Management LLC now owns 2,750 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $368,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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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