Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the fifteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $130.71.

Several research analysts recently commented on ABT shares. Mizuho raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $107.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Raymond James reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $129.00 price objective (up from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer started coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 price objective for the company.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lantz Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 5,737 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $596,000 after buying an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 9.7% in the 2nd quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 6,644 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $690,000 after purchasing an additional 590 shares during the last quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 32.9% during the second quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. now owns 43,885 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $4,560,000 after buying an additional 10,861 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 17.6% in the second quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 3,335 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $347,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 47.0% in the second quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 100,109 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $10,402,000 after buying an additional 32,012 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

NYSE:ABT opened at $115.27 on Friday. 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 stock has a market cap of $199.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.04, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $115.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $111.79. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $99.71 and a one year high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.55 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.99% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.14 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 currently 71.73%.

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.