Strategic Equity Management Takes $306,000 Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Strategic Equity Management purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,306 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock, valued at approximately $306,000.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total transaction of $337,116.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 34,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,415,960.28. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of ABT stock traded down $1.04 on Friday, hitting $135.41. The stock had a trading volume of 3,927,244 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,107,754. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $99.71 and a 12-month high of $141.23. The business has a 50 day moving average of $131.50 and a 200 day moving average of $126.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market cap of $235.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.73.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The company had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.38 billion. As a group, analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current 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 paid a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.74%. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is 30.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $145.00 target price (up from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Four 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $142.59.

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.