Abbott Laboratories Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:ABT)

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) saw unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors bought 92,955 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 948% compared to the average daily volume of 8,870 call options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 51,719 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $5,850,000 after acquiring an additional 4,755 shares in the last quarter. Apella Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 4.8% in the second quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 8,632 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,154,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares during the period. Everpar Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 11.0% in the second quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC now owns 4,423 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $602,000 after buying an additional 437 shares during the last quarter. FF Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 4.3% in the second quarter. FF Advisors LLC now owns 1,904 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $259,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sandy Cove Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter worth approximately $212,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of ABT stock opened at $124.90 on Thursday. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $110.86 and a fifty-two week high of $141.23. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $126.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $129.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market cap of $217.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.65, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.72.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.30. The business had revenue of $11.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.40 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 17.60% 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 in the previous year, the business posted $1.21 EPS. Analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.63 per share. This is a positive change from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 15th. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $149.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $147.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. William Blair raised Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Daiwa Capital Markets raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $134.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $150.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and four have given 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 $147.68.

About Abbott Laboratories

Abbott Laboratories is a global healthcare company headquartered in Abbott Park, Illinois, that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of medical products and services. Founded in 1888, Abbott operates through multiple business areas that focus on diagnostics, medical devices, nutritionals and established pharmaceuticals. The company supplies hospitals, clinics, laboratories, retailers and direct-to-consumer channels with products intended to diagnose, treat and manage a wide range of health conditions.

In diagnostics, Abbott provides laboratory and point-of-care testing platforms and assays used to detect infectious diseases, chronic conditions and biomarkers; its Alinity family of instruments and rapid-test solutions are examples of this capability.