Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Upgraded at William Blair

William Blair upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

ABT has been the subject of several other research reports. Leerink Partners assumed coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, June 16th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $143.00 price target for the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $127.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.47.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $123.81 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.78. The company has a market capitalization of $215.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.52, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.73. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $132.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $129.56. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $99.92 and a fifty-two week 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 the consensus estimate of $1.26. The company had revenue of $11.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.01 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 32.43% and a return on equity of 18.83%. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.14 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.91%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the director owned 34,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,415,960.28. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Abound Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Elequin Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter worth about $32,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.