Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Declares $0.59 Quarterly Dividend

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, February 21st, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of 0.59 per share by the healthcare product maker on Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%.

Abbott Laboratories has raised its dividend payment by an average of 7.2% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 53 years. Abbott Laboratories has a dividend payout ratio of 41.3% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Abbott Laboratories to earn $5.73 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.36 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 41.2%.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of ABT stock traded up $1.93 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $135.10. 2,604,166 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,460,429. The company has a market cap of $234.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.75. The company’s 50 day moving average is $120.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $116.65. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $99.71 and a 1 year high of $135.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its 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 return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The firm had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ABT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI upped 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 price target (up previously from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Four 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.06.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total transaction of $3,054,573.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at $16,152,064.50. The trade was a 15.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Company Profile

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.