Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $126.15, but opened at $122.50. Abbott Laboratories shares last traded at $123.0330, with a volume of 2,255,690 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Benchmark started coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Friday, October 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $145.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $144.00 to $142.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $147.00.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $216.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.62, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $130.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $131.30.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.30. The business had revenue of $11.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.40 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 17.78% and a net margin of 31.88%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.21 earnings per share. Abbott Laboratories has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.120-5.180 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 15th were paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is 29.57%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. IMG Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 759.1% in the second quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 189 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Elequin Capital LP acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Guerra Advisors Inc bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Anfield Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 81.3% during the second quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC now owns 232 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

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.