Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) was upgraded by stock analysts at William Blair from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. William Blair also issued estimates for Abbott Laboratories’ Q2 2018 earnings at $0.72 EPS, Q3 2018 earnings at $0.72 EPS, Q4 2018 earnings at $0.84 EPS, FY2018 earnings at $2.85 EPS, Q1 2019 earnings at $0.65 EPS, Q2 2019 earnings at $0.79 EPS, Q3 2019 earnings at $0.82 EPS, Q4 2019 earnings at $0.93 EPS and FY2019 earnings at $3.19 EPS.
Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $61.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, October 3rd. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $58.00 to $65.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Abbott Laboratories from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $67.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $60.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. The company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $64.06.
Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) traded up $0.20 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $63.42. 10,240,000 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,190,000. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $40.60 and a fifty-two week high of $64.60. The company has a quick ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market cap of $110,390.00, a PE ratio of 317.10, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.55.
In related news, insider Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 71,157 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.00, for a total transaction of $3,913,635.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 144,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,972,525. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Sharon J. Bracken sold 2,188 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.12, for a total transaction of $122,790.56. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 25,618 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,437,682.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 404,569 shares of company stock worth $22,103,095. 0.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in 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 worth $6,308,944,000 after acquiring an additional 3,241,063 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in 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 worth $2,313,334,000 after acquiring an additional 14,918,038 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in 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 worth $1,305,942,000 after acquiring an additional 809,732 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in 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 worth $569,830,000 after acquiring an additional 2,606,404 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in 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 worth $564,222,000 after acquiring an additional 830,610 shares during the last quarter. 71.21% of the stock is currently owned by 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.
