Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) saw unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders bought 12,110 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 40% compared to the typical daily volume of 8,640 call options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 51,719 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $5,850,000 after acquiring an additional 4,755 shares during the last quarter. Calton & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter worth about $239,000. Betterment LLC grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 23.1% in the 1st quarter. Betterment LLC now owns 2,486 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $330,000 after buying an additional 467 shares during the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 4,699 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $623,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. Finally, First Financial Bankshares Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.2% during the first quarter. First Financial Bankshares Inc now owns 110,706 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $14,685,000 after buying an additional 1,305 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE ABT traded up $1.26 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $125.83. The company had a trading volume of 4,171,029 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,529,470. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.70. The company has a market capitalization of $218.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.77, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.71. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $126.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $129.82. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $110.86 and a 12-month high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.30. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.88% and a return on equity of 17.60%. The firm had revenue of $11.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.21 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Abbott Laboratories has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.120-5.180 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 15th will be paid a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 15th. This is a positive change from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $153.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Mizuho lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Benchmark began coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Friday, October 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $145.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $149.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets upped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $134.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $147.00.

About Abbott Laboratories

Abbott Laboratories is a global healthcare company headquartered in Abbott Park, Illinois, that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of medical products and services. Founded in 1888, Abbott operates through multiple business areas that focus on diagnostics, medical devices, nutritionals and established pharmaceuticals. The company supplies hospitals, clinics, laboratories, retailers and direct-to-consumer channels with products intended to diagnose, treat and manage a wide range of health conditions.

In diagnostics, Abbott provides laboratory and point-of-care testing platforms and assays used to detect infectious diseases, chronic conditions and biomarkers; its Alinity family of instruments and rapid-test solutions are examples of this capability.