Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.02 EPS

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.02, RTT News reports. The firm had revenue of $9.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.88 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.32% and a net margin of 13.96%. Abbott Laboratories’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.03 earnings per share.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of ABT stock opened at $105.27 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $114.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $107.57. The company has a market cap of $182.66 billion, a PE ratio of 32.79, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $89.67 and a 12-month high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is presently 68.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Raymond James boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $124.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.31.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total transaction of $4,781,250.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 65,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,315,537.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $55,932.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,223,060. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total value of $4,781,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 65,027 shares in the company, valued at $7,315,537.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 56,435 shares of company stock valued at $6,451,298. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Patriot Investment Management Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Patriot Investment Management Group Inc. now owns 3,236 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $356,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,275 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $250,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Landaas & Co. WI ADV boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Landaas & Co. WI ADV now owns 5,534 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $608,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 0.5% in the first quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 20,029 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,371,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Staley Capital Advisers Inc. boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Staley Capital Advisers Inc. now owns 26,391 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,897,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.