Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Stifel Nicolaus Analyst Says

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) had its price target lifted by analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $130.00 to $135.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the healthcare product maker’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price target would suggest a potential upside of 7.90% from the company’s current price.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on ABT. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $129.00 price objective (up previously from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, October 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $132.50.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of ABT opened at $125.12 on Thursday. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $99.71 and a fifty-two week high of $125.67. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $115.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $113.15. The company has a market capitalization of $217.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.73.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The company had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11,029,400 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 22.2% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 228,448 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 41,557 shares during the last quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth $31,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter valued at $32,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% in the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 289 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth about $37,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.