Ritholtz Wealth Management Increases Stock Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 8.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 48,332 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after buying an additional 3,905 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $6,411,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ABT. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,373,461,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 383.1% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,358,698 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $945,453,000 after buying an additional 6,628,310 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth about $635,056,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 15,420.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,102,648 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $676,866,000 after acquiring an additional 5,069,771 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 67,972,953 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $7,688,160,000 after purchasing an additional 2,229,026 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 0.1%

Abbott Laboratories stock traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $132.35. The company had a trading volume of 4,900,075 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,103,283. The stock has a market cap of $230.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.17, 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. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $99.71 and a 1 year high of $141.23. The business has a fifty day moving average of $131.80 and a 200 day moving average of $126.62.

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

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors 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 1.78%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on ABT. Citigroup raised 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. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $145.00 target price (up from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Leerink Partners started coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday. They set a "market perform" rating and a $143.00 price target on the stock. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $142.61.

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.