Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $121.80.

A number of research firms have issued reports on ABT. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $121.00 price objective on the stock. Edward Jones downgraded Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.41, for a total transaction of $16,492,852.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 220,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,617,068.19. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter worth approximately $30,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 0.4 %

ABT opened at $116.40 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market cap of $202.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.72. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $89.67 and a 52 week high of $121.64. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $109.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $108.57.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $10.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.37 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.65%. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.08 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

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.