Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) had its target price lifted by stock analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $63.00 to $71.00 in a research report issued on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the healthcare product maker’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price objective would indicate a potential upside of 11.95% from the stock’s previous close.
Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $60.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Wednesday. They noted that the move was a valuation call. Cowen set a $68.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 19th. Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $61.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 10th. Jefferies Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, October 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, October 3rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Abbott Laboratories presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $64.06.
Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) traded up $0.20 on Thursday, hitting $63.42. 10,192,742 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,190,000. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $40.60 and a 52 week high of $64.60. The firm has a market cap of $110,390.00, a price-to-earnings ratio of 317.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.
In other Abbott Laboratories news, insider Alejandro D. Wellisch sold 2,153 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.86, for a total value of $120,266.58. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,256 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $572,900.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Brian J. Blaser sold 23,866 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.55, for a total transaction of $1,325,756.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 146,387 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,131,797.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 404,569 shares of company stock valued at $22,103,095. Insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.
A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ABT. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 129,786,955 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $6,308,944,000 after buying an additional 3,241,063 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 45.7% in the 2nd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 47,589,663 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,313,334,000 after buying an additional 14,918,038 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 26,865,706 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,305,942,000 after buying an additional 809,732 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 28.6% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,722,088 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $569,830,000 after buying an additional 2,606,404 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 7.7% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 11,607,121 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $564,222,000 after buying an additional 830,610 shares in the last quarter. 71.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
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Abbott Laboratories Company Profile
Abbott Laboratories is engaged in the discovery, development, manufacture and sale of a range of healthcare products. The Company operates through four segments: Established Pharmaceutical Products, Diagnostic Products, Nutritional Products and Vascular Products. Its Established Pharmaceutical Products include a range of branded generic pharmaceuticals manufactured around the world and marketed and sold outside the United States.