Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Given New $147.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) had its price objective increased by Wells Fargo & Company from $136.00 to $147.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the healthcare product maker’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target suggests a potential upside of 11.99% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on ABT. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Barclays increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Argus raised shares of Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.53.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of ABT traded up $1.57 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $131.27. 2,666,785 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,043,551. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $99.71 and a 52 week high of $141.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $130.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $121.60. The company has a market cap of $227.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.15, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.80.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total value of $3,054,573.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,152,064.50. This trade represents a 15.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction of $77,651.54. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,417,294.90. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 116,449 shares of company stock valued at $15,463,316. 0.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% during 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 in the last quarter. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.