Park Avenue Securities LLC Grows Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 9.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 68,145 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 5,858 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $7,081,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.8% during the second quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 19,408 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,017,000 after acquiring an additional 707 shares during the last quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $56,000. Fulton Bank N.A. increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 7.6% during the second quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 27,903 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,899,000 after buying an additional 1,971 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.5% during the second quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 205,923 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $21,397,000 after acquiring an additional 4,980 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 4.1% in the second quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 6,023 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $626,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:ABT traded up $0.44 on Wednesday, hitting $109.94. 6,365,078 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,057,726. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $104.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $108.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market cap of $191.26 billion, a PE ratio of 34.72, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $89.67 and a 52 week high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.04. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.65% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The business had revenue of $10.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 15th will be issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 68.54%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 211,341 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,099,928.37. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on ABT shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $125.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $121.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Edward Jones cut Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $119.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.00.

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.