Provident Investment Management Inc. Acquires 969 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Provident Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 15,407 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 969 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories makes up 0.1% of Provident Investment Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Provident Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,601,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 28.4% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 12,257 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,349,000 after purchasing an additional 2,714 shares in the last quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 17.4% in the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 7,556 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $832,000 after buying an additional 1,120 shares in the last quarter. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC now owns 13,322 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,466,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the period. Aveo Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,525 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $388,000 after acquiring an additional 413 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gryphon Financial Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 111,176 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $12,252,000 after purchasing an additional 3,767 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $116.43 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $108.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $108.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $202.58 billion, a PE ratio of 36.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.72. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $89.67 and a 12 month high of $121.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $10.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.37 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.65% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, July 15th were issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ABT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Edward Jones lowered Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $121.00 target price for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.80.

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.