Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Short Interest Down 14.4% in November

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 12,050,000 shares, a decrease of 14.4% from the October 31st total of 14,070,000 shares. Currently, 0.7% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 5,010,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.4 days.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.41, for a total transaction of $16,492,852.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 220,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,617,068.19. The trade was a 39.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ABT. Insight Folios Inc boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Insight Folios Inc now owns 2,691 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $307,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Sfmg LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% in the third quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 4,622 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $527,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Boltwood Capital Management boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% in the third quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 21,821 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $2,488,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.9% during the third quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 3,153 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $359,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Silicon Valley Capital Partners raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 8.7% during the third quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 1,108 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $126,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 0.2 %

Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $118.77 on Friday. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $99.71 and a 1 year high of $121.64. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $115.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $110.39. The firm has a market cap of $206.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.60.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.01. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.99%. The company had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.14 earnings per share. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th were issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 66.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Raymond James restated a “buy” rating and issued a $129.00 target price (up previously from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, October 14th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Oppenheimer started coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $131.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $130.07.

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.