Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Position Boosted by CWA Asset Management Group LLC

CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 23.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,322 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after purchasing an additional 2,352 shares during the quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,635,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Cim LLC grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Cim LLC now owns 16,967 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $1,919,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 1,236 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $140,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Capital Square LLC grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital Square LLC now owns 2,941 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $368,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Consilium Wealth Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.1% in the first quarter. Consilium Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 3,822 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $507,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Finally, Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC now owns 954 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $107,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Bank of America increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $145.00 price objective (up previously from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $142.61.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ABT traded up $0.07 during trading on Thursday, hitting $132.35. The company had a trading volume of 4,950,337 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,109,757. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $99.71 and a 52 week high of $141.23. The business's 50-day moving average is $131.91 and its 200 day moving average is $126.66. The company has a market cap of $230.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.17, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.78.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last announced 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 return on equity of 19.01% and a net margin of 31.89%. The company had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.38 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

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 1.78%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.61%.

Insider Activity

In other Abbott Laboratories news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 34,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 accessible through this hyperlink. 0.46% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.