Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Purchases 128,438 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 7.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,875,990 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after purchasing an additional 128,438 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.11% of Abbott Laboratories worth $248,850,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tallon Kerry Patrick bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $200,000. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 23.5% during the fourth quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 82,443 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $9,325,000 after buying an additional 15,692 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 51,719 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $5,850,000 after buying an additional 4,755 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at $29,120,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at $316,000. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Abbott Laboratories stock traded down $1.04 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $135.41. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,927,244 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,107,754. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $99.71 and a 52 week high of $141.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $131.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $126.37. The stock has a market cap of $235.59 billion, a PE ratio of 17.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.73.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last released 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. The company had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.38 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.74%. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is presently 30.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now owns 34,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,415,960.28. This represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $145.00 price objective (up from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Bank of America raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $142.59.

Abbott Laboratories 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.