Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Short Interest Update

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 14,480,000 shares, a decrease of 7.9% from the March 15th total of 15,720,000 shares. Currently, 0.8% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 5,680,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on ABT shares. Citigroup boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $128.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. TheStreet raised Abbott Laboratories from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Thursday, December 21st. Barclays boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Raymond James upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $124.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.14.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total value of $4,781,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 65,027 shares in the company, valued at $7,315,537.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total transaction of $4,781,250.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 65,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,315,537.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $1,500,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 78,704 shares in the company, valued at $9,444,480. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 56,435 shares of company stock valued at $6,451,298 over the last 90 days. 0.47% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABT traded up $0.32 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $109.21. 7,283,867 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,461,397. The company has a market cap of $189.50 billion, a PE ratio of 33.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.74. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $114.57 and a 200 day moving average of $107.60. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $89.67 and a 52-week high of $121.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.16.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.65% and a net margin of 14.27%. The company had revenue of $10.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.03 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.01%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.48%.

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.