Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Raised to “Buy” at Jefferies Financial Group

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) was upgraded by Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage presently has a $145.00 price objective on the healthcare product maker’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $143.00. Jefferies Financial Group’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 17.11% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $127.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Leerink Partners started coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, June 16th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $143.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Raymond James Financial increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $144.47.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of ABT opened at $123.81 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $215.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.73. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $132.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $129.56. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $99.92 and a 12 month high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 32.43% and a return on equity of 18.83%. The company had revenue of $11.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total value of $337,116.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 34,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,415,960.28. This represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ABT. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Abound Financial LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Elequin Capital LP bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.