Advisors Preferred LLC Takes $1.71 Million Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Advisors Preferred LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 13,000 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock, valued at approximately $1,712,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter worth about $27,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Abound Financial LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Wormser Freres Gestion acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Abbott Laboratories news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the firm's 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 owned 34,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,415,960.28. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE:ABT traded down $0.16 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $125.67. 4,707,972 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,987,350. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $99.92 and a fifty-two week high of $141.23. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $132.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $129.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $218.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.75, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.73.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $11.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.01 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 32.43% and a return on equity of 18.83%. Abbott Laboratories's revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.14 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on ABT shares. Leerink Partners started coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, June 16th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $143.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $145.00 target price (up previously from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $127.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. William Blair raised Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $144.47.

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.