Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Has $4.11 Million Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 11.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,943 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,149 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $4,105,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Abound Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. JCIC Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABT has been the subject of several research reports. William Blair upgraded Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Mizuho raised their price target 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. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Abbott Laboratories to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $143.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $127.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.47.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of ABT stock opened at $126.28 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $132.20 and a 200-day moving average of $130.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $99.92 and a 12-month high of $141.23. The firm has a market cap of $219.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.82, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.73.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 earnings per share (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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.14 EPS. Abbott Laboratories’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is 29.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 34,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,415,960.28. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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.