Spire Wealth Management Boosts Stock Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Spire Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 2.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 23,620 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 631 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $3,133,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

NYSE ABT opened at $137.46 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $132.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $127.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $239.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.83, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.73. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $99.71 and a fifty-two week high of $141.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.78.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.38 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 19.01% and a net margin of 31.89%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current 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 dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.72%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 30.61%.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In related 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 transaction, the director now owns 34,058 shares in the company, valued at $4,415,960.28. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.46% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ABT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Leerink Partners assumed coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, June 16th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $143.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $145.00 price objective (up from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note 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 company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.