Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Given "Buy" Rating at Raymond James

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating restated by stock analysts at Raymond James in a report issued on Wednesday, Stock Target Advisor reports. They presently have a $124.00 target price on the healthcare product maker's stock. Raymond James' target price would indicate a potential upside of 16.01% from the company's current price.

A number of other research firms have also commented on ABT. Citigroup lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $121.50.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 0.7 %

ABT traded down $0.70 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $106.89. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,050,066 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,719,627. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $89.67 and a 1 year high of $121.64. The stock's 50-day moving average is $113.90 and its 200-day moving average is $107.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $185.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.30, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.32% and a net margin of 13.96%. The company had revenue of $9.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.88 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.03 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total transaction of $4,781,250.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 65,027 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,315,537.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total transaction of $4,781,250.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 65,027 shares in the company, valued at $7,315,537.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 963 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $114,115.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,895,094.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 56,435 shares of company stock valued at $6,451,298 over the last 90 days. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter worth $30,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 1,677.8% in the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 320 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.