Wolf Group Capital Advisors Invests $405,000 in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Wolf Group Capital Advisors acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 3,050 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock, valued at approximately $405,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 168,645,397 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $19,075,481,000 after buying an additional 739,260 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 67,972,953 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $7,688,160,000 after purchasing an additional 2,229,026 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 54,097,005 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $6,118,903,000 after acquiring an additional 795,073 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,668,834 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $4,023,027,000 after acquiring an additional 765,636 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 26,392,302 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $2,985,233,000 after acquiring an additional 581,325 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on ABT shares. Bank of America lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $142.61.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total value of $337,116.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 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 available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 0.1%

Abbott Laboratories stock traded up $0.07 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $132.35. 4,950,337 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,109,757. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $131.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $126.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a market cap of $230.27 billion, a PE ratio of 17.17, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.73. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 19.01% and a net margin of 31.89%. The firm had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.38 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be given a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is 30.61%.

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.