Manchester Capital Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 1.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 22,647 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 422 shares during the quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $3,004,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ABT. Cim LLC grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Capital Square LLC grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital Square LLC now owns 2,941 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $368,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Consilium Wealth Advisory LLC grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Consilium Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 3,822 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $507,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 17,327 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $2,298,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Opes Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Opes Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,854 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $379,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of ABT stock opened at $127.32 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $107.11 and a 52-week high of $141.23. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $131.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $130.49. The stock has a market cap of $221.52 billion, a PE ratio of 15.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.70.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.26. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 18.32% and a net margin of 32.43%. The firm had revenue of $11.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.14 EPS. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 29.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on ABT shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Abbott Laboratories from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $143.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Leerink Partnrs raised Abbott Laboratories to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. William Blair raised Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, BTIG Research lowered their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $148.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Four investment 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $144.47.

Abbott Laboratories 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.