Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 3.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 111,247 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after purchasing an additional 3,712 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories comprises approximately 1.6% of Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $14,757,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cim LLC increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Cim LLC now owns 16,967 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $1,919,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Capital Square LLC boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital Square LLC now owns 2,941 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $368,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Consilium Wealth Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.1% during the first quarter. Consilium Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 3,822 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $507,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 0.5% during the first quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 17,327 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $2,298,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC now owns 954 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $107,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 2.7%

Abbott Laboratories stock traded up $3.30 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $123.81. 19,570,335 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,247,882. The firm has a market cap of $215.41 billion, a PE ratio of 15.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.73. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $99.92 and a 12-month high of $141.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $132.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $129.45.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26. The firm had revenue of $11.14 billion during 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%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.14 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Abbott Laboratories news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total transaction of $337,116.00. Following the sale, the director owned 34,058 shares in the company, valued at $4,415,960.28. This represents a 7.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Mizuho boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, William Blair raised shares of Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Five investment 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, Abbott Laboratories presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.