Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Given New $148.00 Price Target at UBS Group

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) had its price objective hoisted by analysts at UBS Group from $146.00 to $148.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the healthcare product maker’s stock. UBS Group’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 25.68% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on ABT. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $132.07.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 0.8 %

ABT opened at $117.76 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $99.71 and a 52 week high of $121.64. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $114.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $113.08. The company has a market capitalization of $204.25 billion, a PE ratio of 35.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.73.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.99% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The firm had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11,029,400 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ABT. Bath Savings Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co now owns 166,132 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $18,791,000 after buying an additional 5,881 shares during the period. Simplify Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 67.3% in the third quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. now owns 14,083 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,606,000 after buying an additional 5,664 shares in the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $2,828,000. Dundas Partners LLP increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.1% during the second quarter. Dundas Partners LLP now owns 330,227 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $34,313,000 after purchasing an additional 6,897 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 19.6% during the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 193,764 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $22,091,000 after purchasing an additional 31,720 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.