Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Down 0.3% – Should You Sell?

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) traded down 0.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $117.37 and last traded at $117.44. 726,296 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 5,705,569 shares. The stock had previously closed at $117.82.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Edward Jones downgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $129.67.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.1 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $205.09 billion, a PE ratio of 36.63, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $113.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $108.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.68.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 13.65% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.41, for a total transaction of $16,492,852.39. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,059 shares in the company, valued at $25,617,068.19. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter valued at about $37,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.