JGP Global Gestao de Recursos Ltda. Purchases Shares of 3,346 Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Key Points

• JGP Global Gestao de Recursos Ltda. invested approximately $444,000 in Abbott Laboratories, acquiring 3,346 shares, making it the firm's 15th largest position.
• Several notable institutional investors reported significant increases in their holdings of Abbott Laboratories, including T. Rowe Price, which raised its stake by 383.1% during the fourth quarter.
• Abbott Laboratories recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.59 per share, reflecting a 1.9% yield and a payout ratio of 29.57%.

JGP Global Gestao de Recursos Ltda. bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 3,346 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock, valued at approximately $444,000. Abbott Laboratories accounts for 0.3% of JGP Global Gestao de Recursos Ltda.'s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest holding.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of ABT. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 383.1% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,358,698 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $945,453,000 after purchasing an additional 6,628,310 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 15,420.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,102,648 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $676,866,000 after purchasing an additional 5,069,771 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 67,972,953 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $7,688,160,000 after purchasing an additional 2,229,026 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 22,056,860 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $2,494,851,000 after purchasing an additional 2,060,650 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 27.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 9,018,429 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $1,020,074,000 after purchasing an additional 1,948,329 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ABT traded up $1.16 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $132.09. The stock had a trading volume of 4,690,281 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,902,055. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.82. The company has a 50 day moving average of $131.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $130.73. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $107.11 and a twelve month high of $141.23. The firm has a market cap of $229.90 billion, a PE ratio of 16.55, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.70.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.26. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 18.32% and a net margin of 32.43%. The firm had revenue of $11.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be given a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. William Blair raised shares of Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Raymond James Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $142.00 to $141.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Abbott Laboratories to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $147.00 to $142.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Four equities research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $144.47.

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.