QRG Capital Management Inc. Acquires 25,473 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 7.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 346,481 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after purchasing an additional 25,473 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $45,961,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Three Seasons Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,428,000. Kelly Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter worth $216,000. Voleon Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at $273,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 1,095,443 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $133,691,000 after buying an additional 57,499 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% in 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 acquiring an additional 2,774 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on ABT shares. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective 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. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $142.61.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total value of $337,116.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 1.2%

NYSE:ABT traded down $1.63 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $133.99. The company had a trading volume of 5,084,060 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,103,656. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $131.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $126.47. The company has a market capitalization of $233.12 billion, a PE ratio of 17.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.73. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $99.71 and a 52 week high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The company had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.38 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is 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.