Mutual Advisors LLC Increases Stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Mutual Advisors LLC grew its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 2.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 21,730 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 508 shares during the period. Mutual Advisors LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $2,800,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% during the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 239 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Bank of America increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $142.61.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total value of $337,116.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 34,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,415,960.28. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

NYSE:ABT opened at $133.70 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $133.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $128.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $232.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.73. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $99.71 and a 12-month high of $141.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

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

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 30.61%.

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.