Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Bought by Cetera Investment Advisers

Key Points

• Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 3.0% in the first quarter, holding 384,814 shares valued at approximately $51 million.
• Abbott Laboratories reported a Q2 earnings per share of $1.26, matching analyst expectations, with a quarterly revenue of $11.14 billion, up 7.4% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.59 per share, which will be paid on August 15th, reflecting a 1.87% dividend yield.

Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 3.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 384,814 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after buying an additional 11,059 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $51,046,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter valued at $27,000. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter worth about $28,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. JCIC Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, June 16th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $143.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $143.00 to $145.00 in a report on Friday, July 18th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $127.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $144.47.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE ABT traded up $0.68 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $128.69. The stock had a trading volume of 1,087,907 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,929,149. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $103.55 and a twelve month high of $141.23. The company has a market capitalization of $223.89 billion, a PE ratio of 16.12, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $132.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $130.18.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.26. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 18.83% 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 quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.14 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.