Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Purchased by Loudon Investment Management LLC

Loudon Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 249.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,079 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after acquiring an additional 15,052 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories accounts for about 1.6% of Loudon Investment Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Loudon Investment Management LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $2,796,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on ABT. William Blair raised shares of Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Barclays raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. 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. Raymond James Financial reduced their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $142.00 to $141.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Abbott Laboratories from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $143.00 to $145.00 in a report on Friday, July 18th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $144.47.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total value of $337,116.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 34,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,415,960.28. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Abbott Laboratories stock traded down $0.16 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $125.67. 4,707,671 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,987,335. The company has a market capitalization of $218.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.73. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $132.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $129.70. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $99.92 and a 1 year high of $141.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.78.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26. The firm had revenue of $11.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.01 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 18.83% and a net margin of 32.43%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.14 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.