Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) is KPP Advisory Services LLC's 4th Largest Position

KPP Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 1,324.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 125,462 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after purchasing an additional 116,653 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories makes up about 3.1% of KPP Advisory Services LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. KPP Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $16,643,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Madrona Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter worth approximately $209,000. Western Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,261 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $1,759,000 after purchasing an additional 552 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 10.2% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 238,858 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $31,684,000 after purchasing an additional 22,071 shares during the last quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 27.3% in the 1st quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 8,883 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $1,178,000 after purchasing an additional 1,904 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New World Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 16.0% in the 1st quarter. New World Advisors LLC now owns 5,263 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $698,000 after purchasing an additional 727 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on ABT. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Abbott Laboratories to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $142.61.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

NYSE ABT traded up $0.73 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $134.40. 9,513,093 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,158,384. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $99.71 and a 1 year high of $141.23. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $132.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $127.56. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $233.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.73.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.38 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.89% and a return on equity of 19.01%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.76%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.61%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total value of $337,116.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 34,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,415,960.28. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.46% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.