Sanders Morris Harris LLC Increases Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Sanders Morris Harris LLC lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 7.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,675 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 550 shares during the period. Sanders Morris Harris LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $872,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ABT. Aigen Investment Management LP grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 120.6% during the 3rd quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 6,321 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $612,000 after acquiring an additional 3,455 shares during the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $310,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 80,955 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $7,840,000 after buying an additional 348 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 1,157,159 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $112,071,000 after buying an additional 90,406 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 37.7% in the 3rd quarter. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. now owns 18,880 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,829,000 after buying an additional 5,172 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 0.8 %

NYSE:ABT traded down $0.85 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $105.72. 10,329,146 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,224,383. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $105.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $110.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $183.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.74. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $89.67 and a 1 year high of $121.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.96%. The business had revenue of $9.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.88 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.03 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 15th will be paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.54%.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.57, for a total value of $1,055,843.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 211,341 shares in the company, valued at $22,099,928.37. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.57, for a total value of $1,055,843.29. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 211,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,099,928.37. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 22,852 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.25, for a total value of $2,428,025.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 61,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,530,337.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $125.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $119.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Barclays cut their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $121.00 target price for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $120.64.

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.