Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, thirteen have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $133.06.

ABT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Argus raised Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

NYSE:ABT opened at $130.48 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.60. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $99.71 and a fifty-two week high of $132.50. The company has a market cap of $226.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.06, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.75. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $118.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $115.60.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The company had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This is a positive change from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.81%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.85%.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total transaction of $3,054,573.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at $16,152,064.50. This represents a 15.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. PAX Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. PAX Financial Group LLC now owns 2,608 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $295,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,940 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $785,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 931.8% in the fourth quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 14,971 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,693,000 after acquiring an additional 13,520 shares in the last quarter. Grant Private Wealth Management Inc bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth approximately $323,000. Finally, Arete Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 35.9% in the fourth quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 22,450 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $2,537,000 after acquiring an additional 5,933 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

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.