Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Purchased by Stablepoint Partners LLC

Stablepoint Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 8.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 20,015 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,572 shares during the quarter. Stablepoint Partners LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $2,097,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 1,677.8% during the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 320 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of ABT stock opened at $114.40 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $199.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.18. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $89.67 and a 1-year high of $121.64. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $107.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $108.76.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.14 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $10.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.37 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 15th were issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on ABT shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $125.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Edward Jones downgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.80.

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.