Wells Fargo & Company Lowers Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Price Target to $142.00

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) had its price objective dropped by stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $147.00 to $142.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "overweight" rating on the healthcare product maker's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price objective indicates a potential upside of 14.34% from the stock's previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Leerink Partnrs raised Abbott Laboratories to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $145.00 price objective (up from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Barclays raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reduced their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $142.00 to $141.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $144.47.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

NYSE ABT traded up $3.68 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $124.19. The company's stock had a trading volume of 12,654,355 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,248,891. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $133.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $129.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.78 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 market capitalization of $216.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.10, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.73.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26. The company had revenue of $11.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.01 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 19.01% and a net margin of 31.89%. The firm's revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 34,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,415,960.28. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Abbott Laboratories

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Elequin Capital LP purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.

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