Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Royal Bank of Canada Analyst Says

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) had its price objective increased by investment analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $140.00 to $145.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the healthcare product maker’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price target indicates a potential upside of 10.68% from the company’s current price.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Barclays upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $142.59.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE ABT opened at $131.00 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $130.62 and its 200-day moving average is $121.84. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $99.71 and a one year high of $141.23. The firm has a market cap of $227.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.80.

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

Insider Activity

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $9,625,404.96. The trade was a 55.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total value of $3,054,573.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at $16,152,064.50. The trade was a 15.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 116,449 shares of company stock worth $15,463,316. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ABT. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% in the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 239 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

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.