Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Upgraded to Buy at Jefferies Financial Group

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued on Friday, Marketbeat reports. The firm presently has a $145.00 price target on the healthcare product maker's stock, up from their previous price target of $143.00. Jefferies Financial Group's target price indicates a potential upside of 17.11% from the company's current price.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Raymond James Financial increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $127.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Leerink Partnrs raised Abbott Laboratories to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $144.47.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock traded up $3.30 on Friday, hitting $123.81. The stock had a trading volume of 19,570,335 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,247,882. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $99.92 and a 52-week high of $141.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.27 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 P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.73. The company's 50 day moving average price is $132.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $129.45.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.26. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 18.83% and a net margin of 32.43%. The firm had revenue of $11.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.14 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director owned 34,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,415,960.28. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,373,461,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter worth $1,658,180,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 383.1% in 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 purchasing an additional 6,628,310 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 15,420.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,102,648 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $676,866,000 after acquiring an additional 5,069,771 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 29.2% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 15,985,797 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $2,120,516,000 after acquiring an additional 3,616,471 shares during the last quarter. 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.