Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.02 EPS

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) announced its earnings results on Wednesday. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.02, RTT News reports. The company had revenue of $9.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.88 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.32% and a net margin of 13.96%. Abbott Laboratories’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.03 earnings per share.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

NYSE:ABT opened at $105.27 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.64. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $89.67 and a 52-week high of $121.64. The firm has a market cap of $182.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.79, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.74. The business’s fifty day moving average is $114.28 and its 200 day moving average is $107.57.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.09%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 68.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. TheStreet raised Abbott Laboratories from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 21st. Citigroup lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Barclays boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $124.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.31.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total transaction of $4,781,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 65,027 shares in the company, valued at $7,315,537.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was 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 directly owns 18,760 shares in the company, valued at $2,223,060. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total value of $4,781,250.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 65,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,315,537.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 56,435 shares of company stock worth $6,451,298. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $131,000. United Bank raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. United Bank now owns 27,280 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $3,229,000 after acquiring an additional 1,826 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 813,253 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $96,257,000 after acquiring an additional 15,521 shares in the last quarter. Kinneret Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Kinneret Advisory LLC now owns 19,467 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $2,304,000 after acquiring an additional 436 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lumature Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 636.2% in the 1st quarter. Lumature Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,216 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $262,000 after acquiring an additional 1,915 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Abbott Laboratories

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.