Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Increases Stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Key Points

• Empirical Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 54.3% in Q1, owning 29,763 shares valued at approximately $3.95 million.
• Abbott Laboratories reported earnings of $1.26 per share for the last quarter, meeting analyst expectations, and had a revenue of $11.14 billion, surpassing projections.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.59 per share, reflecting an annual yield of 1.9% and a payout ratio of 29.57%.

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 54.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 29,763 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after acquiring an additional 10,476 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $3,948,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on ABT. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Raymond James Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $142.00 to $141.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $144.47.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of ABT stock traded up $0.51 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $130.44. 2,907,922 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,911,960. The firm has a market cap of $226.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.70. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $107.11 and a fifty-two week high of $141.23. 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 company has a 50 day simple moving average of $131.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $130.72.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26. The business 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 quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.14 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.57%.

About Abbott Laboratories

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.