Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Put Options on Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors acquired 20,110 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 40% compared to the average volume of 14,382 put options.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

ABT stock traded down $1.29 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $126.08. 8,633,688 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,025,466. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $218.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.80. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $99.71 and a one year high of $141.23. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $130.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $121.51.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The firm had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.19 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 30.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on ABT shares. Argus upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $137.94.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total value of $77,651.54. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,970 shares in the company, valued at $4,417,294.90. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction of $131,123.33. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 74,381 shares in the company, valued at $10,277,222.77. The trade was a 1.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 116,449 shares of company stock worth $15,463,316. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Abbott Laboratories

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% in the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 239 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Institutional investors 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.