UBS Group Raises Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Price Target to $146.00

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) had its target price lifted by UBS Group from $143.00 to $146.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the healthcare product maker’s stock. UBS Group’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 24.11% from the company’s previous close.

ABT has been the subject of a number of other reports. Edward Jones downgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $107.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $129.07.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock traded down $0.18 during trading on Thursday, reaching $117.64. 1,314,689 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,708,497. The company has a market capitalization of $204.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $91.64 and a 52-week high of $121.64. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $113.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $108.40.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.14 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ABT. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter valued at about $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.