Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Hits New 52-Week High on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $135.00 to $160.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. Abbott Laboratories traded as high as $141.23 and last traded at $137.65, with a volume of 8356261 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $140.22.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Argus raised Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $137.19.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total value of $77,651.54. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,417,294.90. The trade was a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total value of $131,123.33. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 74,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,277,222.77. This represents a 1.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 25,282 shares of company stock worth $3,263,348 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Groupama Asset Managment raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 22.2% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 228,448 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 41,557 shares in the last quarter. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $124.90 and a 200 day moving average of $118.53. 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 company has a market cap of $233.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.75.

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

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.85%.

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.