Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday.

ABT has been the subject of a number of other research reports. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James restated a “buy” rating and set a $129.00 target price (up previously from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $107.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.06.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ABT opened at $128.20 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The business’s 50 day moving average is $117.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $114.83. The company has a market cap of $222.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.74. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $99.71 and a 12 month high of $132.50.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34. The firm had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.03 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The business’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be given a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. This is a positive change from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.84%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.85%.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total transaction of $3,054,573.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at $16,152,064.50. The trade was a 15.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.47% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ABT. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 239 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% in the 3rd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 289 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.