Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Price Target Raised to $125.00 at Jefferies Financial Group

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) had its price objective upped by Jefferies Financial Group from $120.00 to $125.00 in a research note released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a hold rating on the healthcare product maker’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on ABT. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Piper Sandler Companies assumed coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $107.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $129.67.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

NYSE:ABT opened at $117.90 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $113.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $108.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.18. The company has a market cap of $205.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $91.64 and a one year high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.01. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.65% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The firm had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.55 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be given a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.54%.

Insider Activity

In other Abbott Laboratories news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.41, for a total value of $16,492,852.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 220,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,617,068.19. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 3.9% in the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 117,370 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $13,381,000 after purchasing an additional 4,361 shares during the period. Inspire Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter valued at about $204,000. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 16.3% in the third quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,503 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,083,000 after acquiring an additional 1,329 shares during the period. CHB Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter valued at approximately $238,000. Finally, Kozak & Associates Inc. increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 19.8% during the 3rd quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 1,248 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $147,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.