Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Receives $142.59 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $142.59.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ABT. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $145.00 price objective (up previously from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, April 17th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 1.6%

ABT stock opened at $133.09 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $231.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $99.71 and a 12 month high of $141.23. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $129.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $124.43.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.38 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th were given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.61%.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total value of $77,651.54. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 31,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,417,294.90. This trade represents a 1.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction of $131,123.33. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,277,222.77. The trade was a 1.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 95,278 shares of company stock valued at $12,745,859 in the last quarter. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% during the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 239 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently 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.