Pure Financial Advisors LLC Raises Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Pure Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 27.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,883 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after purchasing an additional 1,904 shares during the period. Pure Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,178,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 23.5% in the 4th quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 82,443 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $9,325,000 after acquiring an additional 15,692 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 51,719 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $5,850,000 after purchasing an additional 4,755 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 152,719 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $17,274,000 after purchasing an additional 2,774 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth $66,000. Finally, Cable Hill Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 14.2% in the 4th quarter. Cable Hill Partners LLC now owns 11,073 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $1,252,000 after buying an additional 1,375 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

ABT opened at $133.73 on Friday. 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's 50-day moving average price is $132.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $127.43. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $99.71 and a fifty-two week high of $141.23. The firm has a market cap of $232.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.73.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last announced 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 return on equity of 19.01% and a net margin of 31.89%. The business had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.38 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ABT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Leerink Partnrs raised Abbott Laboratories to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Bank of America upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $142.61.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 transaction, the director now owns 34,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,415,960.28. This represents a 7.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

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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