Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. Purchases 120 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. raised its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 13.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,008 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 120 shares during the quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $134,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% in the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 239 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

NYSE ABT opened at $132.35 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $132.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $126.76. The stock has a market cap of $230.27 billion, a PE ratio of 17.17, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.78. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $99.71 and a fifty-two week high of $141.23.

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

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $142.61.

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.