Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $130.07.

ABT has been the topic of several research reports. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Piper Sandler Companies initiated coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 price target for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $131.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

ABT stock opened at $118.77 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $206.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.10, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.72. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $99.71 and a twelve month high of $121.64. 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 fifty day simple moving average is $115.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $110.43.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.01. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.99% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The company had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th were paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 66.87%.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.41, for a total transaction of $16,492,852.39. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 220,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,617,068.19. This represents a 39.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Groupama Asset Managment raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 22.2% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 228,448 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 41,557 shares during the last quarter. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth $32,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Abbott Laboratories Company Profile

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.