Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Royal Bank Of Canada Analyst Says

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) had its target price hoisted by equities researchers at Royal Bank Of Canada from $145.00 to $147.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "outperform" rating on the healthcare product maker's stock. Royal Bank Of Canada's price target indicates a potential upside of 21.73% from the stock's current price.

ABT has been the subject of several other reports. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $145.00 price target (up from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Raymond James Financial increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $144.33.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of ABT stock traded down $10.99 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $120.76. The stock had a trading volume of 27,541,366 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,221,910. The firm has a market capitalization of $210.09 billion, a PE ratio of 15.66, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.73. 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 $133.17 and its 200 day moving average is $129.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 1.27.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.01. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 19.01% and a net margin of 31.89%. The firm had revenue of $11.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.01 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.14 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total transaction of $337,116.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 34,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,415,960.28. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Chicago Capital LLC raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 53,917 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $7,333,000 after purchasing an additional 2,501 shares during the last quarter. Paradiem LLC increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 102.8% during the 2nd quarter. Paradiem LLC now owns 108,428 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $14,747,000 after acquiring an additional 54,972 shares during the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 23,340 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $3,174,000 after acquiring an additional 603 shares during the period. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management now owns 3,360 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $457,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 12.4% during the 2nd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 669,868 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $91,109,000 after acquiring an additional 73,780 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company's stock.

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.