Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. Acquires 9,365 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 1.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 827,824 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after acquiring an additional 9,365 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $94,090,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1,677.8% in the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 320 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 302 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 0.3 %

Abbott Laboratories stock traded up $0.32 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $106.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,096,764 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,607,345. The company has a market capitalization of $184.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.74. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $89.67 and a 12 month high of $121.64. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $113.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $108.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $9.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.88 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.96% and a return on equity of 20.32%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.03 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be given a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on ABT shares. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Raymond James restated a "buy" rating and issued a $124.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $121.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 963 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $114,115.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,895,094.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $55,932.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 18,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,223,060. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 963 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $114,115.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,895,094.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 13,935 shares of company stock valued at $1,670,048 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.47% 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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