Forsta AP Fonden Boosts Stock Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Key Points

• Forsta AP Fonden has increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 14.7%, acquiring an additional 62,000 shares, bringing its total to 483,700 shares valued at approximately $64.16 million.
• Multiple hedge funds, including Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations and Savvy Advisors Inc., have also adjusted their holdings in Abbott Laboratories, indicating growing institutional interest in the company.
• Recent analyst upgrades have boosted price targets, with the average consensus now set at $144.47 and a majority recommending a buy rating for Abbott Laboratories.

Forsta AP Fonden boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 14.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 483,700 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after purchasing an additional 62,000 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories comprises 0.5% of Forsta AP Fonden's portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Forsta AP Fonden's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $64,163,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Savvy Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.1% in the first quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. now owns 20,668 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $2,742,000 after acquiring an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 28.9% in the first quarter. Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations now owns 15,186 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $2,014,000 after purchasing an additional 3,409 shares in the last quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter valued at approximately $584,000. Evernest Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Evernest Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,968 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $659,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter worth $1,646,000. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

NYSE ABT traded up $2.35 during trading on Friday, reaching $134.41. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,985,430 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,868,751. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $131.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $131.07. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $107.11 and a 12 month high of $141.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $233.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.70.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.26. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 32.43% and a return on equity of 18.32%. The company had revenue of $11.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.14 earnings per share. Abbott Laboratories's revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors 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 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James Financial reduced their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $142.00 to $141.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. BTIG Research cut their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $148.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, June 16th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $143.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $127.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $144.47.

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.