Alta Advisers Ltd Has $1.16 Million Stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Alta Advisers Ltd boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 52.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,720 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after buying an additional 3,000 shares during the period. Alta Advisers Ltd's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,157,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ABT. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 239 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABT traded down $0.42 on Friday, reaching $133.70. 3,114,335 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,158,307. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $99.71 and a twelve month high of $141.23. The company has a fifty day moving average of $133.20 and a 200-day moving average of $128.16. The company has a market capitalization of $232.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.34, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.73. 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 (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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.02. The business 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%. On average, research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.77%. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is 30.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the company'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 sale, the director owned 34,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,415,960.28. This represents a 7.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Abbott Laboratories to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.