Forbes J M & Co. LLP Has $18.56 Million Stock Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Forbes J M & Co. LLP raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 3.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 139,884 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after acquiring an additional 4,281 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories makes up 1.8% of Forbes J M & Co. LLP's portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Forbes J M & Co. LLP's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $18,556,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter valued at $27,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Abound Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Wormser Freres Gestion purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total value of $337,116.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 34,058 shares of the company's stock, 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 SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ABT. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $127.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $145.00 price target (up previously from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Abbott Laboratories to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $144.47.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $125.90 on Wednesday. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $99.92 and a 12-month high of $141.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The business's 50-day moving average price is $132.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $129.68. The stock has a market cap of $219.05 billion, a PE ratio of 15.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.73.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.26. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 18.83% and a net margin of 32.43%. The company had revenue of $11.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.14 EPS. Abbott Laboratories's revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be given 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 dividend yield of 1.87%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.57%.

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.

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