Hexagon Capital Partners LLC Raises Stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 3.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,259 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $432,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ABT. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Wormser Freres Gestion acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Abbott Laboratories news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total value of $337,116.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 34,058 shares in the company, valued at $4,415,960.28. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

NYSE ABT opened at $133.70 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $99.71 and a fifty-two week high of $141.23. The business has a fifty day moving average of $133.29 and a 200-day moving average of $128.41. The stock has a market cap of $232.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.73.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.38 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.89% and a return on equity of 19.01%. As a group, analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 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 Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be given a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ABT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Abbott Laboratories to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $142.61.

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.