Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Trading Up 1.6%

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) shares were up 1.6% on Monday . The company traded as high as $103.83 and last traded at $103.71. Approximately 1,031,376 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 5,780,081 shares. The stock had previously closed at $102.03.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ABT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $121.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Raymond James reissued a “buy” rating and set a $124.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $125.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $120.70.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $103.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $109.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $180.43 billion, a PE ratio of 32.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.72.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.04. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.65% and a return on equity of 20.32%. The business had revenue of $10.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.08 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.65 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 68.54%.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 211,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,099,928.37. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 211,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,099,928.37. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 22,852 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.25, for a total transaction of $2,428,025.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 61,462 shares in the company, valued at $6,530,337.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 165,301,921 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $18,788,216,000 after purchasing an additional 8,834,840 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 86,588,614 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $9,530,825,000 after purchasing an additional 7,527,778 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 9.1% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 70,177,564 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $7,976,382,000 after purchasing an additional 5,882,780 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 32,236,101 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $3,548,228,000 after purchasing an additional 1,027,390 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,115,836,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.