Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Down 0.4% – Should You Sell?

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)’s share price was down 0.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $113.38 and last traded at $113.94. Approximately 435,239 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 92% from the average daily volume of 5,683,555 shares. The stock had previously closed at $114.45.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on ABT shares. Raymond James reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $129.00 price target (up from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, October 14th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $129.67.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 4.6 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $206.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.05, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.72. The business has a 50 day moving average of $114.93 and a 200-day moving average of $108.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.01. The company 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 20.30%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.14 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.85%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.87%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.0% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 303,668 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $31,767,000 after buying an additional 5,817 shares in the last quarter. StoneX Group Inc. bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter valued at about $1,179,000. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 11.8% in the first quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 42,370 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $4,816,000 after acquiring an additional 4,466 shares during the last quarter. Choreo LLC grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 6.2% in the first quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 27,799 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $3,160,000 after acquiring an additional 1,618 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter valued at about $10,157,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

About Abbott Laboratories

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.