Acima Private Wealth LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Key Points

• Acima Private Wealth LLC reduced its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 37.2% in the first quarter, now owning 3,382 shares valued at approximately $449,000.
• Several analysts have adjusted their price targets for Abbott Laboratories, with Wells Fargo lowering theirs from $147.00 to $142.00, while Morgan Stanley increased theirs from $127.00 to $137.00.
• Abbott Laboratories reported $1.26 EPS for the last quarter, meeting expectations, and declared a dividend of $0.59, with an annualized yield of 1.8%.

Acima Private Wealth LLC lessened its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 37.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,382 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 2,000 shares during the quarter. Acima Private Wealth LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $449,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ABT. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Abound Financial LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Wormser Freres Gestion acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 0.9%

NYSE:ABT traded up $1.16 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $132.09. The company had a trading volume of 4,690,281 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,877,068. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $107.11 and a twelve month high of $141.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The firm has a market cap of $229.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.70. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $131.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $130.85.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 18.32% and a net margin of 32.43%. The business had revenue of $11.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.14 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is 29.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $143.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Raymond James Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $142.00 to $141.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Leerink Partnrs raised Abbott Laboratories to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, William Blair upgraded Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories currently has an average 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.