ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Lowers Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 2.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 47,884 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 998 shares during the period. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $6,352,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Clark Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $301,000. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 1.1% during the first quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 13,669 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,813,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 23.5% during the first quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 736,551 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $97,703,000 after purchasing an additional 139,973 shares during the last quarter. Clune & Associates LTD. grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Clune & Associates LTD. now owns 14,917 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,979,000 after buying an additional 376 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Revisor Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 63.7% in the 1st quarter. Revisor Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,371 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $580,000 after buying an additional 1,701 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $134.08 on Thursday. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $99.71 and a fifty-two week high of $141.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $233.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.39, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.73. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $133.11 and a 200 day moving average of $128.01.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.89% and a return on equity of 19.01%. The firm had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.38 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be given a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $145.00 target price (up previously from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Leerink Partners started coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, June 16th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $143.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $142.61.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total transaction of $337,116.00. Following the sale, the director owned 34,058 shares in the company, valued at $4,415,960.28. This represents a 7.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Abbott Laboratories 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.