Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Down 1.1% – Here’s Why

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)’s share price dropped 1.1% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $114.70 and last traded at $115.26. Approximately 912,690 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 5,699,912 shares. The stock had previously closed at $116.54.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABT has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $131.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $129.67.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $114.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $108.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market cap of $198.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.01. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.65% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The company had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.55 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.14 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,617,068.19. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Abbott Laboratories

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Company Profile

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.