Peak Asset Management LLC Has $1.88 Million Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Peak Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 2.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,192 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 410 shares during the period. Peak Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,883,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ABT. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Abound Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Wormser Freres Gestion acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

ABT opened at $126.53 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $220.15 billion, a PE ratio of 15.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $132.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $129.98. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $99.92 and a fifty-two week high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 18.83% and a net margin of 32.43%. The business had revenue of $11.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.01 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.14 earnings per share. Abbott Laboratories’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on ABT shares. BTIG Research decreased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $148.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $127.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. William Blair raised shares of Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.47.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.