Stratos Investment Management LLC Purchases 11,224 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Stratos Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 228.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,139 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after acquiring an additional 11,224 shares during the quarter. Stratos Investment Management LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $2,141,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ABT. Three Seasons Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth about $1,428,000. Kelly Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter worth about $216,000. Voleon Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth about $273,000. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% in 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 buying an additional 2,774 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Edge Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Edge Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,530 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $336,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE ABT opened at $133.62 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.78. The company has a market capitalization of $232.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.73. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $133.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $128.66. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $99.71 and a one year high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.38 billion. Equities analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is 30.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. 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.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $142.61.

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.

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