Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Downgraded by Edward Jones to Hold

Edward Jones downgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on ABT. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Citigroup cut their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $119.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a buy rating and a $121.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an outperform rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed a buy rating and issued a $124.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $121.00.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:ABT opened at $111.29 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $193.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.67, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.72. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $104.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $109.06. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $89.67 and a 12 month high of $121.64.

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

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 15th will be paid 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 1.98%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 68.54%.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 22,852 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,530,337.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now 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 is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 22,852 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.25, for a total transaction of $2,428,025.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 61,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,530,337.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ABT. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 156,467,081 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $17,222,332,000 after purchasing an additional 701,740 shares during the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 47,080 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $5,182,000 after buying an additional 2,317 shares in the last quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth $16,764,000. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,932,000. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 16.4% during the fourth quarter. Garde Capital Inc. now owns 1,858 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $205,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

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.