Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Purchased by S. R. Schill & Associates

S. R. Schill & Associates raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 79.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,322 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 1,914 shares during the quarter. S. R. Schill & Associates’ holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $491,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1,677.8% in the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 320 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 236.0% in the 4th quarter. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. now owns 336 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays decreased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $125.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $119.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $121.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Raymond James restated a “buy” rating and issued a $124.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $120.64.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 22,852 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.25, for a total transaction of $2,428,025.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 61,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,530,337.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 22,852 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.25, for a total value of $2,428,025.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 61,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,530,337.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.57, for a total value of $1,055,843.29. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 211,341 shares in the company, valued at $22,099,928.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:ABT traded up $0.54 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $103.99. 4,500,985 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,350,948. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.60. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $89.67 and a 52-week high of $121.64. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $105.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $110.14. The company has a market capitalization of $180.90 billion, a PE ratio of 32.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.74.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.96%. The business had revenue of $9.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.88 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.03 earnings per share. Abbott Laboratories’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 15th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 68.54%.

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.