Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-one ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $142.61.

A number of research firms have weighed in on ABT. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Raymond James Financial boosted their target price 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. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $145.00 target price (up previously from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Leerink Partners initiated coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, June 16th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $143.00 price objective for the company.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 0.6%

ABT stock opened at $133.62 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $99.71 and a 1 year high of $141.23. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $133.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $128.66. The firm has a market cap of $232.48 billion, a PE ratio of 17.33, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.73.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.38 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.89% and a return on equity of 19.01%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is 30.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Abbott Laboratories news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total transaction of $337,116.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 34,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,415,960.28. This represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 51,719 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $5,850,000 after purchasing an additional 4,755 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 152,719 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $17,274,000 after purchasing an additional 2,774 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 99.5% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 8,896 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $1,006,000 after buying an additional 4,437 shares during the period. Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth $1,332,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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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