3Chopt Investment Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

3Chopt Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 5,544 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock, valued at approximately $735,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% in the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 239 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter worth $32,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Leerink Partners assumed coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, June 16th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $143.00 price target on the stock. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $142.61.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Abbott Laboratories news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total transaction of $337,116.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 34,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,415,960.28. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock traded up $0.73 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $134.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,513,093 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,149,849. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.78. The stock has a market cap of $233.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.73. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $99.71 and a twelve month high of $141.23. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $132.82 and a 200-day moving average of $127.66.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 19.01% and a net margin of 31.89%. The firm had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.38 billion. Research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.76%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is presently 30.61%.

Abbott Laboratories Company 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.