Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Bought by Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC

Key Points

• Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 6.1% during the 1st quarter, owning over 1 million shares valued at approximately $136.6 million.
• Abbott's recent quarterly earnings met consensus estimates with revenues of $11.14 billion, showing a year-over-year growth of 7.4%.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.59 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 1.8%, with a payout ratio of 29.57%.

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 6.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,030,029 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after acquiring an additional 59,324 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC owned about 0.06% of Abbott Laboratories worth $136,633,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 51,719 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $5,850,000 after buying an additional 4,755 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 152,719 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $17,274,000 after buying an additional 2,774 shares during the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 393.4% during the 4th quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 11,742 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $1,328,000 after buying an additional 9,362 shares during the last quarter. Finward Bancorp purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at about $622,000. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 16,925 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $1,914,000 after purchasing an additional 445 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, CFO Philip P. Boudreau sold 5,550 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.55, for a total transaction of $746,752.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 51,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,862,453.65. This represents a 9.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of ABT opened at $129.39 on Thursday. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $107.71 and a 1 year 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. The stock has a market cap of $225.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.70. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $131.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $131.15.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The firm had revenue of $11.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.01 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 18.32% and a net margin of 32.43%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ABT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. William Blair raised shares of Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. BTIG Research cut their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $148.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Raymond James Financial cut their price target 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. Four 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.

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