Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Trading Down 0.2% – What’s Next?

Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) dropped 0.2% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $116.51 and last traded at $116.73. Approximately 504,511 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 91% from the average daily volume of 5,719,069 shares. The stock had previously closed at $116.99.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Edward Jones lowered shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $129.67.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $114.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $108.52. The company has a market capitalization of $202.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.16, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.18.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.55 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.65%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.14 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.89%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.54%.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the business’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 transaction of $16,492,852.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 220,059 shares in the company, valued at $25,617,068.19. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ABT. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 75.18% of the stock is 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.