Csenge Advisory Group Increases Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Csenge Advisory Group raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 21.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,307 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after purchasing an additional 3,356 shares during the quarter. Csenge Advisory Group's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $2,529,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter valued at $27,000. Abound Financial LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter valued at $28,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. JCIC Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Abbott Laboratories news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director owned 34,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,415,960.28. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock traded down $1.12 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $124.61. 2,140,490 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,223,371. The stock has a market cap of $216.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.73. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $132.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $129.68. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $99.92 and a 12-month high of $141.23. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.26. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 32.43% and a return on equity of 18.83%. The firm had revenue of $11.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.01 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.14 EPS. Abbott Laboratories's revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on ABT. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Raymond James Financial dropped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $142.00 to $141.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $147.00 to $142.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Abbott Laboratories from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $143.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $144.47.

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.