AXS Investments LLC Trims Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

AXS Investments LLC lowered its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 10.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,695 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 1,638 shares during the quarter. AXS Investments LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,949,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ABT. Three Seasons Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,428,000. Kelly Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter valued at $216,000. Voleon Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at $273,000. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% during 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. Finally, Edge Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Edge Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,530 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $336,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of ABT opened at $130.78 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $131.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $130.72. The company has a market capitalization of $227.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.70.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.26. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 32.43% and a return on equity of 18.32%. The business had revenue of $11.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.14 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $143.00 to $145.00 in a report on Friday, July 18th. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, June 16th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $143.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $147.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $127.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.