King Luther Capital Management Corp Decreases Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

King Luther Capital Management Corp trimmed its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 1.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,416,243 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 15,848 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp owned about 0.08% of Abbott Laboratories worth $187,865,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Three Seasons Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth $1,428,000. Kelly Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter worth about $216,000. Voleon Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at about $273,000. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 152,719 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $17,274,000 after acquiring an additional 2,774 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Edge Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.3% in the first quarter. Edge Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,530 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $336,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of ABT opened at $134.41 on Friday. 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 12-month low of $107.11 and a 12-month high of $141.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $233.93 billion, a PE ratio of 16.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.70. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $131.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $131.07.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced 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. The company had revenue of $11.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.01 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 18.32% and a net margin of 32.43%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.14 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on ABT shares. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $145.00 price objective (up previously from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $143.00 to $145.00 in a report on Friday, July 18th. Leerink Partners assumed coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, June 16th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $143.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Abbott Laboratories to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories has a consensus 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.