Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Citigroup Analyst Says

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) had its price target increased by stock analysts at Citigroup from $135.00 to $160.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the healthcare product maker’s stock. Citigroup’s price target points to a potential upside of 15.13% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $158.00 price target (up from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $137.19.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABT traded down $1.25 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $138.97. The stock had a trading volume of 3,032,879 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,437,545. The stock has a market capitalization of $241.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.75. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $123.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $118.10. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $99.71 and a 12-month high of $141.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The firm had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.03 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.19 EPS. Abbott Laboratories’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total value of $3,054,573.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,152,064.50. This trade represents a 15.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Smith Shellnut Wilson LLC ADV increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Smith Shellnut Wilson LLC ADV now owns 5,454 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $617,000 after acquiring an additional 641 shares during the last quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 58,605 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $6,611,000 after buying an additional 2,947 shares during the last quarter. GHE LLC raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. GHE LLC now owns 15,190 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,718,000 after acquiring an additional 718 shares in the last quarter. Cim LLC increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Cim LLC now owns 16,967 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,919,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth about $83,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.