Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $142.59.

ABT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Raymond James upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

NYSE:ABT opened at $136.33 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $237.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.82, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $131.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $126.25. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $99.71 and a twelve month high of $141.23.

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

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total transaction of $337,116.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 34,058 shares in the company, valued at $4,415,960.28. This represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 period. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently 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.