Graham Capital Wealth Management LLC Buys New Shares in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Graham Capital Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 12,285 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock, valued at approximately $1,396,000. Abbott Laboratories comprises about 1.6% of Graham Capital Wealth Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 worth $35,000 after buying an additional 302 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $1,500,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 78,704 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,444,480. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $1,500,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 78,704 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,444,480. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $55,932.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 18,760 shares in the company, valued at $2,223,060. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 13,935 shares of company stock valued at $1,670,048 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

NYSE:ABT traded down $0.37 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $105.92. 3,589,288 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,583,985. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $112.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $108.41. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $89.67 and a 52 week high of $121.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $183.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.76.

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

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is presently 68.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

About Abbott Laboratories

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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