Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 11,620,000 shares, a drop of 19.9% from the May 31st total of 14,500,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 5,720,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.0 days. Approximately 0.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ABT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $119.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Barclays dropped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $121.00 price target for the company. Raymond James reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $124.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $120.64.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

NYSE ABT opened at $103.20 on Tuesday. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $89.67 and a one year high of $121.64. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $104.79 and a 200 day moving average of $110.12. The company has a market capitalization of $179.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.15, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.60.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.96%. The company had revenue of $9.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.88 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.03 EPS. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 15th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 22,852 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.25, for a total transaction of $2,428,025.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 61,462 shares in the company, valued at $6,530,337.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 22,852 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.25, for a total transaction of $2,428,025.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 61,462 shares in the company, valued at $6,530,337.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.57, for a total transaction of $1,055,843.29. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 211,341 shares in the company, valued at $22,099,928.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. HM Payson & Co. grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 417,557 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $47,460,000 after purchasing an additional 2,657 shares during the period. Keynote Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter valued at about $3,116,000. Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 15.1% during the 1st quarter. Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX now owns 27,967 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $3,196,000 after purchasing an additional 3,661 shares during the period. Clear Rock Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Clear Rock Advisors LLC now owns 21,121 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,401,000 after purchasing an additional 429 shares during the period. Finally, Motiv8 Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 13.9% during the 1st quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC now owns 6,717 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $763,000 after purchasing an additional 821 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.