Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Raises Stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 0.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 883,617 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 3,843 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC owned about 0.05% of Abbott Laboratories worth $91,817,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE:ABT traded up $0.51 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $113.27. 4,320,139 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,906,677. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $89.67 and a 12-month high of $121.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $106.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $108.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $197.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.29, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.04. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.65%. The company had revenue of $10.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, July 15th were paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 68.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Edward Jones cut Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $125.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. 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 objective for the company. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.80.

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.