Geneos Wealth Management Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 92.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,199 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after buying an additional 11,157 shares during the quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc.'s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $3,077,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Abound Financial LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Wormser Freres Gestion bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on ABT shares. Leerink Partnrs raised Abbott Laboratories to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. BTIG Research decreased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $148.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $145.00 price objective (up from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $127.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Four investment 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $144.47.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

NYSE:ABT traded up $1.13 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $127.32. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,452,663 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,710,759. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $107.11 and a twelve month high of $141.23. The company has a market capitalization of $221.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.95, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.82 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $131.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $130.36.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.14 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, 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. Stockholders 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 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio 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.