Synergy Asset Management LLC Purchases 11,392 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Synergy Asset Management LLC increased its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 37.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 42,054 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,392 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories makes up 0.8% of Synergy Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Synergy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $4,780,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 156,467,081 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $17,222,332,000 after purchasing an additional 701,740 shares in the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 47,080 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $5,182,000 after acquiring an additional 2,317 shares during the period. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $16,764,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,106 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the period. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 257,508 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $28,344,000 after purchasing an additional 11,508 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

ABT stock traded down $0.17 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $103.03. The stock had a trading volume of 1,465,537 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,665,026. The stock has a market capitalization of $179.23 billion, a PE ratio of 32.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.72. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $104.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $110.12. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $89.67 and a fifty-two week high of $121.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $9.88 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.03 earnings per share. Abbott Laboratories’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 15th will be issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 15th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.14%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.54%.

Insider Activity

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ABT shares. Raymond James reissued a “buy” rating and set a $124.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Barclays lowered their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $125.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $119.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $121.00 price target for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $120.18.

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.