Short Interest in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Decreases By 7.9%

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) saw a large decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 14,480,000 shares, a decline of 7.9% from the March 15th total of 15,720,000 shares. Currently, 0.8% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 5,680,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $128.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 21st. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.14.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

NYSE:ABT traded up $0.31 on Tuesday, hitting $109.20. The company had a trading volume of 7,279,806 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,590,588. The stock has a market capitalization of $189.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.50, a PEG ratio of 2.63 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. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $114.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $107.60. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $89.67 and a 52 week high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.19. The business had revenue of $10.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.19 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 14.27% and a return on equity of 20.65%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.03 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be given a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.48%.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $55,932.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,223,060. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 963 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $114,115.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,895,094.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $55,932.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,223,060. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 56,435 shares of company stock worth $6,451,298 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 104,649.4% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 30,247,436 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $3,320,866,000 after acquiring an additional 30,218,560 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,115,836,000. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 86,588,614 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $9,530,825,000 after acquiring an additional 7,527,778 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 38,966,499 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $4,278,132,000 after acquiring an additional 4,886,954 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 12,577.8% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,772,670 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $415,948,000 after acquiring an additional 3,742,912 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is currently 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.