Short Interest in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Grows By 5.6%

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT – Get Rating) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 13,930,000 shares, an increase of 5.6% from the February 13th total of 13,190,000 shares. Currently, 0.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,770,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.9 days.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABT opened at $97.01 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $168.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.81, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.63. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $93.25 and a one year high of $124.36. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $106.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $104.86.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 25th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $10.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.69 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 26.09% and a net margin of 15.88%. The company’s revenue was down 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.32 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, April 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 13th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.10%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 52.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on ABT shares. StockNews.com started coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Mizuho raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 24th. Barclays raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 26th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $114.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $124.67.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Julie L. Tyler sold 260 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.24, for a total transaction of $26,842.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 40,896 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,222,103.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Julie L. Tyler sold 260 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.24, for a total transaction of $26,842.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 40,896 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,222,103.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Randel William Woodgrift sold 1,032 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.70, for a total value of $103,922.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 52,203 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,256,842.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,971 shares of company stock worth $199,140 over the last 90 days. 0.52% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ABT. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 673 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Royal Capital Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Royal Capital Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,534 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $927,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Alesco Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Alesco Advisors LLC now owns 2,435 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $267,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 3,743 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $411,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Echo Street Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Echo Street Capital Management LLC now owns 9,291 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,009,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. 72.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Company Profile

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Abbott Laboratories engages in the discovery, development, manufacture, and sale of a broad and diversified line of health care products. It operates through the following business segments: Established Pharmaceutical Products, Diagnostic Products, Nutritional Products, and Medical Devices. The Established Pharmaceutical Products segment refers to the international sales of a line of branded generic pharmaceutical products.