Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Announces Earnings Results

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34, Zacks reports. The company had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11,029,400 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.99%. The business’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ABT opened at $117.76 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $204.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $99.71 and a 1-year high of $121.64. The business’s 50 day moving average is $114.87 and its 200-day moving average is $113.04.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. This is a positive change from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 71.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABT has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group upped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Mizuho increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Four 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.com, Abbott Laboratories presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.93.

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.