E Fund Management Co. Ltd. Increases Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Key Points

• E Fund Management Co. Ltd. increased its stock position in Abbott Laboratories by 13.2%, owning a total of 24,621 shares valued at approximately $3.27 million after purchasing additional shares in the 1st quarter.
• Several analysts have recently set new price targets for Abbott Laboratories, with Stifel Nicolaus raising its target from $135 to $145 and William Blair upgrading the stock to a "strong-buy" rating.
• Abbott Laboratories reported a net margin of 32.43% and revenue of $11.14 billion for the recent quarter, beating analyst estimates, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.59.

E Fund Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 13.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 24,621 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after purchasing an additional 2,869 shares during the period. E Fund Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $3,266,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cim LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Cim LLC now owns 16,967 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $1,919,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Capital Square LLC raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital Square LLC now owns 2,941 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $368,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. Consilium Wealth Advisory LLC raised its position in 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 worth $507,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 0.5% in the first quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 17,327 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $2,298,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Finally, Opes Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 2.9% in the first quarter. Opes Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,854 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $379,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on ABT shares. Leerink Partners started coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, June 16th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $143.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted 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. William Blair upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $145.00 target price (up previously from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $143.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Four equities 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $144.47.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $130.92 on Wednesday. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $107.60 and a 1 year high of $141.23. The firm has a market cap of $227.85 billion, a PE ratio of 16.41, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.82 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $131.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $131.16.

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 (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 business had revenue of $11.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.14 earnings per share. Abbott Laboratories's revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is presently 29.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, CFO Philip P. Boudreau sold 5,550 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 51,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,862,453.65. The trade was a 9.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

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.

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