Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Reaches New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $129.85 and last traded at $127.28, with a volume of 11948521 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $129.43.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on ABT shares. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $131.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Mizuho raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.06.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $223.32 billion, a PE ratio of 16.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.73. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $115.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $113.90.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.34. The company had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.03 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. Abbott Laboratories’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.19 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.15 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be given a $0.59 dividend. This is a positive change from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.83%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.85%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ABT. Groupama Asset Managment grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 22.2% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 228,448 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 41,557 shares in the last quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% during the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 289 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. 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.