ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. Acquires New Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Key Points

• ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. purchased 199,127 shares of Abbott Laboratories, valued at approximately $26.4 million, signaling strong interest in the healthcare product maker.
• Several hedge funds have also taken stakes in Abbott Laboratories, with institutional investors now owning 75.18% of the company's stock.
• Abbott Laboratories reported quarterly earnings of $1.26 per share, matching analysts' expectations, and recorded a 7.4% year-over-year increase in revenue.

ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 199,127 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock, valued at approximately $26,414,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Corbyn Investment Management Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Corbyn Investment Management Inc. MD now owns 11,373 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $1,509,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 8.6% during the first quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 2,340 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $310,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Fi3 FINANCIAL ADVISORS LLC lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 14.2% in the first quarter. Fi3 FINANCIAL ADVISORS LLC now owns 4,308 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $571,000 after acquiring an additional 535 shares in the last quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.2% in the first quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. now owns 11,503 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $1,526,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jensen Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1,221.2% during the first quarter. Jensen Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,365,785 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $181,171,000 after purchasing an additional 1,262,407 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on ABT shares. BTIG Research lowered their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $148.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $147.00 to $142.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $145.00 price objective (up previously from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Leerink Partners started coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, June 16th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $143.00 target price on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $144.47.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of NYSE ABT traded up $2.35 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $134.41. 4,985,430 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,868,751. The company's 50-day moving average is $131.68 and its 200-day moving average is $130.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $233.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.84, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.70. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $107.11 and a 52-week high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.26. The company had revenue of $11.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.01 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 32.43% and a return on equity of 18.32%. Abbott Laboratories's revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.14 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is 29.57%.

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.