Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV Reduces Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV decreased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 2.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 20,308 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 430 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories accounts for about 1.0% of Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV’s holdings, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $2,694,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% in the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 239 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. JCIC Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of ABT stock opened at $137.46 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $132.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $127.30. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $99.71 and a 52-week high of $141.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $239.16 billion, a PE ratio of 17.83, a PEG ratio of 2.62 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 (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 19.01% and a net margin of 31.89%. The business had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.38 billion. On average, analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.72%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Abbott Laboratories news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now directly owns 34,058 shares in the company, valued at $4,415,960.28. This represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.46% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on ABT shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Piper Sandler reissued 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. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $142.61.

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.