Chicago Capital LLC Buys 7,030 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Chicago Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 15.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 51,416 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after purchasing an additional 7,030 shares during the period. Chicago Capital LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $6,820,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Three Seasons Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,428,000. Kelly Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter valued at $216,000. Voleon Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth $273,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 1,095,443 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $133,691,000 after purchasing an additional 57,499 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 152,719 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $17,274,000 after buying an additional 2,774 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,415,960.28. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.1%

ABT stock traded up $0.07 during trading on Thursday, reaching $132.35. The company had a trading volume of 4,950,337 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,109,757. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 1.27. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $99.71 and a 52 week high of $141.23. The business has a 50 day moving average of $132.07 and a 200 day moving average of $126.76. The company has a market cap of $230.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.17, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.73.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.38 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 19.01% and a net margin of 31.89%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ABT. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Barclays lifted their target price 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, Leerink Partners started coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday. They set a "market perform" rating and a $143.00 price target for the company. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $142.61.

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.