Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Makes New $796,000 Investment in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Key Points

• Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories, purchasing 6,004 shares valued at approximately $796,000 during the first quarter.
• Abbott Laboratories reported a net margin of 32.43% and revenue of $11.14 billion for the quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.59, yielding 1.83%, to be paid on August 15th to investors of record as of July 15th.

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 6,004 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock, valued at approximately $796,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Wormser Freres Gestion purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Abbott Laboratories to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective 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. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $145.00 price objective (up previously from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $144.47.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ABT traded up $1.13 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $127.32. 5,452,663 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,710,759. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $131.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $130.36. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $107.11 and a 1-year high of $141.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The firm has a market cap of $221.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.73.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26. The business had revenue of $11.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.01 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 32.43% and a return on equity of 18.32%. The business's revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.14 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.57%.

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.