Abacus Wealth Partners LLC Takes $646,000 Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Key Points

• Abacus Wealth Partners LLC invested approximately $646,000 to acquire a new stake of 4,870 shares in Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter.
• Abbott Laboratories reported earnings of $1.26 EPS for the latest quarter, matching expectations, with revenue of $11.14 billion, representing a 7.4% increase year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.59 per share, with a dividend yield of 1.83%, set to be paid on August 15th.

Abacus Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 4,870 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock, valued at approximately $646,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter worth about $27,000. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter worth $28,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. JCIC Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Raymond James Financial dropped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $142.00 to $141.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. William Blair raised Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $127.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $147.00 to $142.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $144.47.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

ABT stock traded up $1.98 during trading on Monday, reaching $129.27. The stock had a trading volume of 2,214,734 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,915,687. The stock's 50 day moving average is $131.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $130.61. The firm has a market cap of $224.99 billion, a PE ratio of 16.19, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.70. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $107.11 and a 52 week high of $141.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

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

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.