Naviter Wealth LLC Boosts Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Naviter Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 0.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 24,974 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $3,267,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 239 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on ABT. Bank of America lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Leerink Partners started coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, June 16th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $143.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $145.00 price target (up from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $142.61.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of ABT opened at $134.40 on Friday. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $99.71 and a 52-week high of $141.23. The company has a market capitalization of $233.83 billion, a PE ratio of 17.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.73. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $132.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $127.66. 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 (NYSE:ABT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 19.01% and a net margin of 31.89%. The business had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.38 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Abbott Laboratories news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 now directly owns 34,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,415,960.28. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories 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.