DLK Investment Management LLC Boosts Stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

DLK Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 2.3% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 50,345 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 1,122 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories comprises 2.8% of DLK Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. DLK Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $6,678,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ABT. Balefire LLC lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Balefire LLC now owns 3,539 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $470,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1,324.2% during the first quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC now owns 125,462 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $16,643,000 after purchasing an additional 116,653 shares in the last quarter. Madrona Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter worth about $209,000. Western Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 4.3% in the first quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,261 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,759,000 after buying an additional 552 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 10.2% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 238,858 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $31,684,000 after buying an additional 22,071 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now owns 34,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,415,960.28. This represents a 7.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ABT. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $145.00 price objective (up from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $142.61.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 0.4%

NYSE:ABT opened at $137.46 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $239.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.73. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $99.71 and a twelve 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. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $132.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $127.30.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.02. The company 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%. Analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.72%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.61%.

About Abbott Laboratories

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.