Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Holdings Cut by Brookmont Capital Management

Key Points

• Brookmont Capital Management decreased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 6.6%, now holding 39,303 shares valued at approximately $5.2 million, making it the fund's third-largest position.
• Abbott Laboratories reported $1.26 EPS, meeting expectations, along with a revenue of $11.14 billion for the quarter, which was higher than analyst estimates.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.59 per share, representing a 1.8% yield based on its current stock price.

Brookmont Capital Management lessened its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 6.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 39,303 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 2,778 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories comprises about 2.9% of Brookmont Capital Management's holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Brookmont Capital Management's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $5,214,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Savvy Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.1% in the first quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. now owns 20,668 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $2,742,000 after acquiring an additional 428 shares during the period. Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 28.9% during the first quarter. Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations now owns 15,186 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $2,014,000 after buying an additional 3,409 shares in the last quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter worth about $584,000. Evernest Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Evernest Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,968 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $659,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,646,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock traded up $2.35 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $134.41. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,985,430 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,868,751. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $107.11 and a 12 month high of $141.23. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $131.69 and a 200 day moving average of $131.07. The company has a market capitalization of $233.93 billion, a PE ratio of 16.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.82 and a quick ratio of 1.30.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 18.32% and a net margin of 32.43%. The business had revenue of $11.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.01 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.14 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. 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 is presently 29.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on ABT shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $127.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Abbott Laboratories from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $143.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $144.47.

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.