Abbott Laboratories’ (ABT) Hold Rating Reaffirmed at Jefferies Financial Group

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)‘s stock had its “hold” rating reaffirmed by stock analysts at Jefferies Financial Group in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $120.00 target price on the healthcare product maker’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 6.73% from the company’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Citigroup increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $121.00 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler Companies started coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 target price on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $124.00.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE:ABT opened at $112.43 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $195.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.72. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $111.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $108.36. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $89.67 and a 1 year 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.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $10.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.37 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.65% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.41, for a total value of $16,492,852.39. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,617,068.19. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.