Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Receives Buy Rating from Raymond James

Raymond James reiterated their buy rating on shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, Stock Target Advisor reports. Raymond James currently has a $124.00 target price on the healthcare product maker’s stock.

ABT has been the subject of several other research reports. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $121.50.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

NYSE ABT opened at $106.89 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $185.47 billion, a PE ratio of 33.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.64. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $89.67 and a 52-week high of $121.64. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $113.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $107.97.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.96% and a return on equity of 20.32%. 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 business posted $1.03 EPS. Abbott Laboratories’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 68.54%.

Insider Activity 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 shares were sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total value of $4,781,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 65,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,315,537.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 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 value of $55,932.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 18,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,223,060. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 owns 65,027 shares in the company, valued at $7,315,537.50. 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 three months. 0.47% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ABT. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 65.3% during the 3rd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 762 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 147.0% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 31,159 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $3,018,000 after buying an additional 18,546 shares during the period. Strategic Blueprint LLC raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 8,235 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $798,000 after buying an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. Syntegra Private Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Syntegra Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 12,575 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,218,000 after buying an additional 562 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SS&H Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,805,000. 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.