Townsquare Capital LLC Reduces Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Key Points

• Townsquare Capital LLC reduced its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 2.0%, now holding 336,564 shares worth $44.65 million.
• Abbott Laboratories reported earnings of $1.26 per share for the latest quarter, meeting analysts' estimates, with a 7.4% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.59, representing a dividend yield of 1.8%, with an ex-dividend date set for July 15th.

Townsquare Capital LLC decreased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 2.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 336,564 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 6,757 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $44,645,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cim LLC boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Cim LLC now owns 16,967 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $1,919,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Capital Square LLC boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital Square LLC now owns 2,941 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $368,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. Consilium Wealth Advisory LLC boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Consilium Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 3,822 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $507,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 17,327 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $2,298,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Opes Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Opes Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,854 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $379,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on ABT shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $127.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. William Blair upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $147.00 to $142.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Leerink Partners started coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, June 16th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $143.00 price objective for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $144.47.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 1.8%

NYSE:ABT traded up $2.35 on Friday, reaching $134.41. 4,985,430 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,868,751. The company has a market capitalization of $233.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.84, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $107.11 and a 12 month high of $141.23. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $131.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $131.07.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26. The business had revenue of $11.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.01 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 32.43% and a return on equity of 18.32%. Abbott Laboratories's revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.14 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.57%.

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.