Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Bought by Meeder Advisory Services Inc.

Key Points

• Meeder Advisory Services Inc. has increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 11.3%, bringing its total holdings to approximately $4.11 million.
• Abbott Laboratories recently reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, matching analysts' expectations and showing a 7.4% increase in quarterly revenue year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.59 per share, with an annualized yield of 1.87%, payable on August 15th.

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 11.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 30,943 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after acquiring an additional 3,149 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $4,105,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter worth about $27,000. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter worth about $28,000. Wormser Freres Gestion purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth 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.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of ABT stock traded up $1.20 on Friday, reaching $127.39. 2,721,278 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,929,010. The company has a market cap of $221.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.73. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $131.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $130.26. 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 has a 1 year low of $107.11 and a 1 year high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 EPS 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 18.83%. The business had revenue of $11.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.14 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

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 paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is 29.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $127.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Leerink Partnrs raised Abbott Laboratories to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Raymond James Financial dropped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $142.00 to $141.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Four 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.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $144.47.

Abbott Laboratories Company 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.