Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Up 1.8%

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) shares were up 1.8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $112.35 and last traded at $111.45. Approximately 1,299,477 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 6,024,179 shares. The stock had previously closed at $109.50.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on ABT shares. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $119.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Raymond James reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $124.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Edward Jones downgraded Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.00.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $104.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $108.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market cap of $191.50 billion, a PE ratio of 34.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $10.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.37 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.65%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 15th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 68.54%.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.57, for a total transaction of $1,055,843.29. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 211,341 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,099,928.37. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of ABT. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth $293,000. Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 42,469 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $4,675,000 after purchasing an additional 592 shares in the last quarter. Moseley Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $214,000. Strategic Blueprint LLC raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 8,475 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $933,000 after buying an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 28.4% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 12,257 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,349,000 after purchasing an additional 2,714 shares during the last quarter. 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.