On April 11, 2023 at 10:35:12 ET an unusually large $316.32K block of Call contracts in Abbott Laboratories (ABT) was sold, with a strike price of $110.00 / share, expiring in 66 days (on June 16, 2023). Fintel tracks all large options trades, and the premium spent on this trade was 2.29 sigmas above the mean, placing it in the 98.05 percentile of all recent large trades made in ABT options.

This trade was first picked up on Fintel’s real time Unusual Option Trades tool, where unusual option trades are highlighted.

Analyst Price Forecast Suggests 20.48% Upside

As of April 6, 2023, the average one-year price target for Abbott Laboratories is $124.94. The forecasts range from a low of $108.07 to a high of $151.20. The average price target represents an increase of 20.48% from its latest reported closing price of $103.70.

See our leaderboard of companies with the largest price target upside.

The projected annual revenue for Abbott Laboratories is $39,830MM, a decrease of 8.76%. The projected annual non-GAAP EPS is $4.45.

What is the Fund Sentiment?

There are 3951 funds or institutions reporting positions in Abbott Laboratories. This is an increase of 148 owner(s) or 3.89% in the last quarter. Average portfolio weight of all funds dedicated to ABT is 0.44%, a decrease of 28.50%. Total shares owned by institutions increased in the last three months by 0.06% to 1,513,995K shares. The put/call ratio of ABT is 0.95, indicating a bullish outlook.

What are Large Shareholders Doing?

Capital Research Global Investors holds 76,785K shares representing 4.42% ownership of the company. In it’s prior filing, the firm reported owning 78,807K shares, representing a decrease of 2.63%. The firm increased its portfolio allocation in ABT by 1.70% over the last quarter.

Capital International Investors holds 53,026K shares representing 3.05% ownership of the company. In it’s prior filing, the firm reported owning 52,232K shares, representing an increase of 1.50%. The firm increased its portfolio allocation in ABT by 6.00% over the last quarter.

VTSMX – Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund Investor Shares holds 53,002K shares representing 3.05% ownership of the company. In it’s prior filing, the firm reported owning 52,252K shares, representing an increase of 1.41%. The firm increased its portfolio allocation in ABT by 6.29% over the last quarter.

VFINX – Vanguard 500 Index Fund Investor Shares holds 40,307K shares representing 2.32% ownership of the company. In it’s prior filing, the firm reported owning 39,698K shares, representing an increase of 1.51%. The firm increased its portfolio allocation in ABT by 6.14% over the last quarter.

Geode Capital Management holds 30,599K shares representing 1.76% ownership of the company. In it’s prior filing, the firm reported owning 30,061K shares, representing an increase of 1.76%. The firm increased its portfolio allocation in ABT by 6.77% over the last quarter.

Abbott Laboratories Declares $0.51 Dividend

On February 17, 2023 the company declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.51 per share ($2.04 annualized). Shareholders of record as of April 14, 2023 will receive the payment on May 15, 2023. Previously, the company paid $0.51 per share.

At the current share price of $103.70 / share, the stock’s dividend yield is 1.97%. Looking back five years and taking a sample every week, the average dividend yield has been 1.61%, the lowest has been 1.26%, and the highest has been 2.29%. The standard deviation of yields is 0.18 (n=237).

The current dividend yield is 1.94 standard deviations above the historical average.

Additionally, the company’s dividend payout ratio is 0.51. The payout ratio tells us how much of a company’s income is paid out in dividends. A payout ratio of one (1.0) means 100% of the company’s income is paid in a dividend. A payout ratio greater than one means the company is dipping into savings in order to maintain its dividend – not a healthy situation. Companies with few growth prospects are expected to pay out most of their income in dividends, which typically means a payout ratio between 0.5 and 1.0. Companies with good growth prospects are expected to retain some earnings in order to invest in those growth prospects, which translates to a payout ratio of zero to 0.5.

The company’s 3-Year dividend growth rate is 0.42%, demonstrating that it has increased its dividend over time.

Abbott Laboratories Background Information
(This description is provided by the company.)

Abbott is a global healthcare leader that helps people live more fully at all stages of life. Its portfolio of life-changing technologies spans the spectrum of healthcare, with leading businesses and products in diagnostics, medical devices, nutritionals and branded generic medicines. Our 109,000 colleagues serve people in more than 160 countries.

This article originally appeared on Fintel

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