LRI Investments LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

LRI Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,354 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 88 shares during the quarter. LRI Investments LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $379,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ABT. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total value of $337,116.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 34,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,415,960.28. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total value of $131,123.33. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,381 shares in the company, valued at $10,277,222.77. This represents a 1.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 95,278 shares of company stock valued at $12,745,859 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $133.50 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $129.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $123.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The company has a market capitalization of $232.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.45, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.74. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $99.71 and a 1-year high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.38 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 30.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ABT. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $145.00 price objective (up previously from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $142.59.

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.