Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Up 0.1% Following Analyst Upgrade

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) rose 0.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $119.00 to $127.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. Abbott Laboratories traded as high as $112.10 and last traded at $111.54. 557,159 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 91% from the average session volume of 5,970,002 shares. The stock had previously closed at $111.39.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $125.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $121.00 price target on the stock. Edward Jones lowered Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Raymond James reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $124.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.80.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ABT. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter worth $28,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $105.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $108.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $194.23 billion, a PE ratio of 34.72, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $10.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.37 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.65% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. Research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, July 15th were given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.54%.

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.