Signaturefd LLC Purchases 1,994 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 4.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 48,456 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 1,994 shares during the quarter. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $6,428,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ABT. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Wormser Freres Gestion purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on ABT. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Barclays increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $145.00 target price (up previously from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Raymond James Financial boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Six research 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $143.11.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 34,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,415,960.28. This represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of ABT stock opened at $131.95 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $133.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $129.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $229.56 billion, a PE ratio of 17.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.73. 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 52 week low of $99.71 and a 52 week high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 19.01% and a net margin of 31.89%. The company had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.38 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.79%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.61%.

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.