Caliber Wealth Management LLC KS Makes New $240,000 Investment in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Caliber Wealth Management LLC KS bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,808 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $240,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Abound Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Wormser Freres Gestion bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of ABT opened at $126.53 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $220.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.86, a PEG ratio of 2.38 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 $99.92 and a fifty-two week high of $141.23. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $132.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $129.88.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.26. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 32.43% and a return on equity of 18.83%. The company had revenue of $11.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.14 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 29.57%.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total value of $337,116.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 34,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,415,960.28. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Raymond James Financial cut their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $142.00 to $141.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $147.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Stifel Nicolaus raised 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. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.47.

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.