World Equity Group Inc. Boosts Stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

World Equity Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 58.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,501 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after buying an additional 3,125 shares during the quarter. World Equity Group Inc.'s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,103,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tallon Kerry Patrick acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $200,000. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 23.5% during the fourth quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 82,443 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $9,325,000 after buying an additional 15,692 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 51,719 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $5,850,000 after buying an additional 4,755 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at $29,120,000. Finally, Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ABT shares. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $142.61.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $132.88 on Friday. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $99.71 and a 1 year high of $141.23. 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 $231.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.24, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.73. The company's fifty day moving average is $132.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $126.88.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $10.38 billion. Analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is 30.61%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated 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 now owns 34,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,415,960.28. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

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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