FFT Wealth Management LLC Grows Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

FFT Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,990 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 106 shares during the period. FFT Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $311,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of ABT. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1,677.8% during the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 320 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $121.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $125.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.80.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of ABT opened at $113.27 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $106.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $108.71. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $89.67 and a 52 week high of $121.64. The stock has a market cap of $197.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.72.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $10.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

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

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.