Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Increases Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 18.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 5,637,231 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after acquiring an additional 866,314 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned 0.33% of Abbott Laboratories worth $747,779,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ABT. Three Seasons Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at $1,428,000. Kelly Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter worth about $216,000. Voleon Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $273,000. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 152,719 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $17,274,000 after purchasing an additional 2,774 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Edge Financial Advisors LLC increased its position 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 worth $336,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

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 sale, the director directly owned 34,058 shares in the company, valued at $4,415,960.28. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

ABT stock traded down $0.35 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $133.35. 4,780,530 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,168,649. The firm has a market cap of $232.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.30, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $133.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $128.66. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $99.71 and a 1-year high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.38 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.89% and a return on equity of 19.01%. On average, analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is presently 30.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Raymond James Financial boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $143.11.

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.