Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Lowered to “Buy” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Wednesday.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on ABT. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $131.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Argus raised Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $158.00 price objective (up previously from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.06.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of ABT opened at $130.48 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $118.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $115.60. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $99.71 and a 1-year high of $132.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $226.31 billion, a PE ratio of 17.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.75.

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, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.34. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The business had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.19 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total value of $3,054,573.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at $16,152,064.50. This trade represents a 15.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Abbott Laboratories

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 1,236 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $140,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC now owns 954 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $107,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. LMG Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. LMG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,161 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $244,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Jacobson & Schmitt Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Jacobson & Schmitt Advisors LLC now owns 2,827 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $320,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Glass Wealth Management Co LLC increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Glass Wealth Management Co LLC now owns 2,640 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $299,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.