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

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) was the recipient of 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. Based on an average trading volume of 5,680,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.5 days. Currently, 0.8% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,223,060. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total transaction of $4,781,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 65,027 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,315,537.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 18,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,223,060. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 56,435 shares of company stock worth $6,451,298. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on ABT. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Raymond James upped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $124.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Thursday, December 21st. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.14.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of ABT traded up $0.31 during trading hours 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $114.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $107.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $189.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.74. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $89.67 and a 52-week high of $121.64.

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

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis 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 67.48%.

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.