Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Earns Overweight Rating from Piper Sandler

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)‘s stock had its “overweight” rating restated by equities research analysts at Piper Sandler in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $145.00 price target on the healthcare product maker’s stock, up from their prior price target of $133.00. Piper Sandler’s target price suggests a potential upside of 10.68% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Raymond James boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $142.59.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE:ABT opened at $131.00 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $227.20 billion, a PE ratio of 17.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.80. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $130.62 and its 200 day moving average is $121.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $99.71 and a 12 month high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.38 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. Sell-side analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction of $131,123.33. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,381 shares in the company, valued at $10,277,222.77. This represents a 1.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.82, for a total value of $12,199,967.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 71,928 shares in the company, valued at $9,625,404.96. This trade represents a 55.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 116,449 shares of company stock valued at $15,463,316. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Broderick Brian C grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% in the first quarter. Broderick Brian C now owns 126,566 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $16,789,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. Wolf Group Capital Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter worth approximately $405,000. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 4.5% in the first quarter. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC now owns 3,080 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $408,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Cushing Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter valued at $804,000. Finally, Hemenway Trust Co LLC raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Hemenway Trust Co LLC now owns 372,188 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $49,371,000 after purchasing an additional 14,775 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.