Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Gap Down - Here's What Happened

Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $131.74, but opened at $126.55. Abbott Laboratories shares last traded at $122.29, with a volume of 7,076,602 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on ABT shares. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Leerink Partners assumed coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, June 16th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $143.00 price objective for the company. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Abbott Laboratories from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $143.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Friday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $144.47.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $132.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $129.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock has a market cap of $215.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.73.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26. The firm had revenue of $11.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.01 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 18.83% and a net margin of 32.43%. Abbott Laboratories's quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors 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 1.91%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is 30.61%.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth $2,373,461,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter worth $1,658,180,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 383.1% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,358,698 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $945,453,000 after buying an additional 6,628,310 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 15,420.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,102,648 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $676,866,000 after buying an additional 5,069,771 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 29.2% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 15,985,797 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $2,120,516,000 after buying an additional 3,616,471 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.