Wealthstar Advisors LLC Invests $1.38 Million in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Wealthstar Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 10,431 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock, valued at approximately $1,384,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 23.5% in the 4th quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 82,443 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $9,325,000 after purchasing an additional 15,692 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 51,719 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $5,850,000 after purchasing an additional 4,755 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted 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 purchasing an additional 2,774 shares during the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $66,000. Finally, Flputnam Investment Management Co. lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 125,523 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $14,198,000 after purchasing an additional 5,168 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 0.5%

Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $134.40 on Friday. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $99.71 and a 1-year high of $141.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $233.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.73. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $132.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $127.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

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 company had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.38 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is currently 30.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on ABT. Morgan Stanley upped 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. Citigroup upped their price target 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. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Six equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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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