Brooklyn Investment Group Increases Stock Holdings in Abbott Laboratories $ABT

Key Points

• Brooklyn Investment Group has increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 21.5%, now holding 20,524 shares valued at approximately $2.72 million.
• Abbott Laboratories reported a 7.4% increase in quarterly revenue year-over-year and earnings per share of $1.26, meeting analysts' expectations.
• Several hedge funds modified their holdings in Abbott Laboratories, with institutional investors owning 75.18% of the company's stock.

Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 21.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,524 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after buying an additional 3,627 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories comprises about 0.6% of Brooklyn Investment Group's holdings, making the stock its 27th largest position. Brooklyn Investment Group's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $2,722,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ABT. Three Seasons Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at $1,428,000. Kelly Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter valued at $216,000. Voleon Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at $273,000. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 152,719 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $17,274,000 after buying an additional 2,774 shares during the period. Finally, Edge Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.3% in the first quarter. Edge Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,530 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $336,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ABT opened at $131.66 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $229.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $131.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $131.22. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $110.33 and a twelve month high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26. The business had revenue of $11.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.01 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 18.32% and a net margin of 32.43%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate 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 was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th were given a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is 29.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on ABT shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $147.00 to $142.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Raymond James Financial lowered their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $142.00 to $141.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 18th. BTIG Research decreased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $148.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs upgraded Abbott Laboratories to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $144.47.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, CFO Philip P. Boudreau sold 5,550 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.55, for a total transaction of $746,752.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 51,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,862,453.65. This represents a 9.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

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.

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