Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Stock Price Up 1%

Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) were up 1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $105.42 and last traded at $104.95. Approximately 1,336,511 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 5,797,951 shares. The stock had previously closed at $103.92.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays decreased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $121.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $119.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Raymond James restated a “buy” rating and set a $124.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $120.70.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $103.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $109.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $186.59 billion, a PE ratio of 33.15, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.72.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $10.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.37 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.32% and a net margin of 13.65%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 15th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.05%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.54%.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.57, for a total value of $1,055,843.29. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 211,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,099,928.37. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 22,852 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.25, for a total value of $2,428,025.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 61,462 shares in the company, valued at $6,530,337.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.57, for a total transaction of $1,055,843.29. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 211,341 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,099,928.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.