ABLE Financial Group LLC Acquires 222 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

ABLE Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 3.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,664 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the period. ABLE Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,017,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Cim LLC boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Cim LLC now owns 16,967 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,919,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 1,236 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $140,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Capital Square LLC raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital Square LLC now owns 2,941 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $368,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Consilium Wealth Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.1% during the first quarter. Consilium Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 3,822 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $507,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Finally, Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC now owns 954 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $107,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $136.09 on Tuesday. 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 firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $132.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $127.91. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $99.71 and a 12-month high of $141.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $236.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.65, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.73.

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, 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 firm had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.38 billion. Analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 30.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $142.61.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the business’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $4,415,960.28. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

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.