Firestone Capital Management Acquires New Stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Firestone Capital Management bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 4,085 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock, valued at approximately $542,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of ABT. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Abound Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Wormser Freres Gestion acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total value of $337,116.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 34,058 shares in the company, valued at $4,415,960.28. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on ABT. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Leerink Partnrs raised Abbott Laboratories to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $143.78.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 0.5%

Abbott Laboratories stock traded down $0.62 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $131.41. The stock had a trading volume of 5,084,239 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,156,483. The company has a market capitalization of $228.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.04, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $99.71 and a 12 month high of $141.23. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $133.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $129.31.

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

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

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 paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.80%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.61%.

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.