Global Assets Advisory LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Global Assets Advisory LLC increased its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 146.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,978 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after purchasing an additional 5,338 shares during the quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,146,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ABT. Cim LLC increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Cim LLC now owns 16,967 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $1,919,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 1,236 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $140,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Capital Square LLC grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital Square LLC now owns 2,941 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $368,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Consilium Wealth Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.1% in the first quarter. Consilium Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 3,822 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $507,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC now owns 954 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $107,000 after buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 34,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,415,960.28. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on ABT shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Bank of America upped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Leerink Partners assumed coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, June 16th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $143.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $142.61.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 2.7%

Shares of ABT stock traded down $3.67 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $133.73. The company had a trading volume of 9,442,414 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,136,879. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $232.67 billion, a PE ratio of 17.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.73. The company's fifty day moving average is $132.69 and its 200 day moving average is $127.30. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $99.71 and a fifty-two week high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 19.01% and a net margin of 31.89%. The company had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.38 billion. Research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.