Bleakley Financial Group LLC Has $9.04 Million Stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 21.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 68,135 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after purchasing an additional 12,130 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $9,038,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Abound Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Wormser Freres Gestion acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total value of $337,116.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 34,058 shares in the company, valued at $4,415,960.28. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

NYSE ABT traded up $0.03 during trading on Monday, reaching $132.05. 4,849,534 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,721,722. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $99.71 and a fifty-two week high of $141.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $229.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.13, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.73. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $133.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $129.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 1.27.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.89% and a return on equity of 19.01%. The company had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.38 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be given a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is 30.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Leerink Partners started coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, June 16th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $143.00 target price for the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Raymond James Financial upped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $145.00 price target (up previously from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Six 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $143.11.

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.