Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Price Target Lowered to $142.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) had its price objective lowered by Wells Fargo & Company from $147.00 to $142.00 in a report issued on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the healthcare product maker’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on ABT. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Abbott Laboratories from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $143.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Leerink Partners assumed coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, June 16th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $143.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $145.00 target price (up from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.47.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 2.7%

Shares of NYSE:ABT traded up $3.30 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $123.81. 19,570,335 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,247,882. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock has a market cap of $215.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.73. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $132.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $129.45. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $99.92 and a 12-month high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.26. The company had revenue of $11.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.01 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 32.43% and a return on equity of 18.83%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.14 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Abbott Laboratories news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total value of $337,116.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 34,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,415,960.28. This represents a 7.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter worth about $27,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Elequin Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 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.