Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Acquired by Fiduciary Group LLC

Fiduciary Group LLC grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 4.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,527 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 731 shares during the period. Fiduciary Group LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $2,192,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Three Seasons Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at $1,428,000. Kelly Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter valued at approximately $216,000. Voleon Capital Management LP bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth $273,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 1,095,443 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $133,691,000 after acquiring an additional 57,499 shares during the period. Finally, Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 152,719 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $17,274,000 after purchasing an additional 2,774 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

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 that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total transaction of $337,116.00. Following the sale, the director owned 34,058 shares in the company, valued at $4,415,960.28. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

NYSE ABT opened at $135.54 on Wednesday. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $99.71 and a 1 year high of $141.23. The business’s fifty day moving average is $133.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $127.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $235.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 19.01% and a net margin of 31.89%. The company had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.38 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $145.00 price target (up from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Six 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.