Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Up 0.2% After Analyst Upgrade

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) shares were up 0.2% during trading on Wednesday after Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on the stock from $125.00 to $130.00. Royal Bank of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Abbott Laboratories traded as high as $115.15 and last traded at $114.84. Approximately 473,635 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 92% from the average daily volume of 5,729,206 shares. The stock had previously closed at $114.63.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on ABT. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler Companies assumed coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 target price for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.15.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.41, for a total value of $16,492,852.39. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 220,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,617,068.19. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Webster Bank N. A. increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 11,751 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,340,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. CVA Family Office LLC raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 11.7% in the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 6,957 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $793,000 after acquiring an additional 731 shares in the last quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC now owns 9,548 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,089,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Willner & Heller LLC boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 2.4% during the third quarter. Willner & Heller LLC now owns 6,211 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $708,000 after buying an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ayrshire Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Ayrshire Capital Management LLC now owns 45,066 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $5,138,000 after acquiring an additional 542 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company’s 50-day moving average is $112.93 and its 200-day moving average is $108.26. The stock has a market cap of $201.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.72.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.04. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.65% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The business had revenue of $10.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.54%.

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.