Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Research Coverage Started at Leerink Partners

Leerink Partners began coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) in a report issued on Monday, Marketbeat reports. The firm issued a market perform rating and a $143.00 price target on the healthcare product maker’s stock.

ABT has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $145.00 price target (up previously from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $142.61.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

ABT stock opened at $132.35 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $230.27 billion, a PE ratio of 17.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.73. 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 50-day moving average price of $131.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $126.66. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $99.71 and a 12-month high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share (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 net margin of 31.89% and a return on equity of 19.01%. As a group, research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.61%.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total value of $337,116.00. Following 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. 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.