Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) shares hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $132.85 and last traded at $132.92, with a volume of 547305 shares. The stock had previously closed at $132.13.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $158.00 price target (up previously from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com lowered Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.06.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.4 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $230.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.35, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $119.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $116.53.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.19 earnings per share. Abbott Laboratories’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th were given a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. This is a boost from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is 30.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the business’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ABT. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 17.9% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 268,538 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $30,616,000 after acquiring an additional 40,783 shares during the period. Trilogy Capital Inc. increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 5.6% in the third quarter. Trilogy Capital Inc. now owns 2,503 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $285,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter valued at about $142,000. My Legacy Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 2.3% in the third quarter. My Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 4,180 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $477,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 11.2% in the third quarter. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. now owns 8,571 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $964,000 after purchasing an additional 863 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.