Piper Sandler Begins Coverage on Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm issued an overweight rating and a $131.00 target price on the healthcare product maker’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the company. Barclays lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an outperform rating and issued a $125.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a buy rating and a $121.00 price target on the stock. Edward Jones cut Abbott Laboratories from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $123.33.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE ABT opened at $113.70 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $197.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.72. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $110.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $108.53. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $89.67 and a 1 year high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.04. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.65%. The company had revenue of $10.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be issued 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 1.93%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.41, for a total transaction of $16,492,852.39. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 220,059 shares in the company, valued at $25,617,068.19. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.