Donoghue Forlines LLC Invests $2.29 Million in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Key Points

• Donoghue Forlines LLC has acquired a new stake of 17,283 shares of Abbott Laboratories, valued at approximately $2.29 million, highlighting increased institutional interest in the healthcare company.
• Abbott Laboratories recently reported quarterly earnings with an EPS of $1.26 and revenue of $11.14 billion, exceeding analyst estimates and reflecting a 7.4% year-over-year revenue growth.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.59 per share, representing a yield of 1.8%, with a dividend payout ratio of 29.57%.

Donoghue Forlines LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 17,283 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock, valued at approximately $2,293,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter valued at $561,000. Forsta AP Fonden grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 14.7% during the 1st quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 483,700 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $64,163,000 after acquiring an additional 62,000 shares during the period. Savvy Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. now owns 20,668 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $2,742,000 after acquiring an additional 428 shares during the period. Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 28.9% during the 1st quarter. Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations now owns 15,186 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $2,014,000 after acquiring an additional 3,409 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaCore Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter worth about $584,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Abbott Laboratories news, CFO Philip P. Boudreau sold 5,550 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.55, for a total value of $746,752.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 51,003 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,862,453.65. This trade represents a 9.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Abbott Laboratories stock traded down $0.44 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $130.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,657,375 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,882,736. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $131.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $131.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.82. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $107.60 and a 12-month high of $141.23. The company has a market capitalization of $227.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.41, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.70.

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, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.26. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 32.43% and a return on equity of 18.32%. The firm had revenue of $11.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.01 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on ABT shares. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Barclays increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $147.00 to $142.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 18th. Mizuho increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.