Austin Private Wealth LLC Boosts Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Austin Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 9.2% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,156 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 182 shares during the quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $240,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dark Forest Capital Management LP bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth about $310,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% during the third quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 80,955 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $7,840,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the period. Operose Advisors LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth about $87,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 28.3% during the third quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 102,882 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $9,964,000 after purchasing an additional 22,674 shares during the period. Finally, Mendel Money Management boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 10.9% in the third quarter. Mendel Money Management now owns 2,535 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $246,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of ABT traded down $0.42 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $105.30. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,084,356 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,709,905. The stock has a market cap of $183.18 billion, a PE ratio of 32.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.74. 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 has a 52 week low of $89.67 and a 52 week high of $121.64. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $104.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $110.16.

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

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 15th will be issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 15th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.09%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 68.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on ABT. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Raymond James restated a “buy” rating and issued a $124.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $119.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $125.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $121.00 price objective for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $120.64.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

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