Wealthfront Advisers LLC Has $21.46 Million Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Wealthfront Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 16.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 161,769 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after acquiring an additional 22,966 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $21,459,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ABT. Three Seasons Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,428,000. Kelly Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $216,000. Voleon Capital Management LP bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $273,000. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 2,774 shares during the period. Finally, Edge Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 worth $336,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the company's 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 sale, the director directly owned 34,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,415,960.28. This represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Leerink Partners started coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, June 16th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $143.00 price objective for the company. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $143.78.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock traded down $0.62 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $131.41. The stock had a trading volume of 5,084,239 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,156,483. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $133.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $129.29. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $99.71 and a 12-month high of $141.23. 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 firm has a market cap of $228.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.73.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.38 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.89% and a return on equity of 19.01%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.80%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.61%.

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.