Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Price Target Raised to $136.00

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) had its price objective increased by Evercore ISI to $136.00 in a report issued on Thursday morning,Stock Target Advisor reports. They currently have a buy rating on the healthcare product maker’s stock.

ABT has been the topic of several other reports. Mizuho raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $107.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 price objective on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.57.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of ABT opened at $113.83 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $197.43 billion, a PE ratio of 34.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $115.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $112.15. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $99.71 and a 1-year high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.55 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.99% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.14 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This is a boost from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 71.73%.

Institutional Trading of Abbott Laboratories

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% in the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 289 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter worth $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.