Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Boosts Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 4.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 105,363 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after purchasing an additional 4,694 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.'s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $13,976,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% during the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 239 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

ABT stock opened at $132.88 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $231.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.24, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.73. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $132.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $127.03. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $99.71 and a fifty-two week high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.89% and a return on equity of 19.01%. The company had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.38 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

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 issued 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 1.78%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.61%.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total value of $337,116.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 34,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,415,960.28. This represents a 7.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ABT. Citigroup boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Raymond James Financial boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective 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, Barclays lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $142.61.

About Abbott Laboratories

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.

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