Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Reaches New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $132.85 and last traded at $132.92, with a volume of 547305 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $132.13.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Argus raised Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group upped 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. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.06.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.60. The company has a market cap of $234.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.75. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $120.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $116.83.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.34. The company 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 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.75%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 30.85%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 22.2% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 228,448 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 41,557 shares during the period. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% in the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 239 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $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.