V2 Financial group LLC Makes New Investment in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

V2 Financial group LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,520 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $202,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Cim LLC grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Cim LLC now owns 16,967 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,919,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Capital Square LLC boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital Square LLC now owns 2,941 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $368,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Consilium Wealth Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Consilium Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 3,822 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $507,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC now owns 954 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $107,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Edge Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Edge Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,530 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $336,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 1.2%

ABT opened at $131.95 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $133.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $129.07. 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 $229.56 billion, a PE ratio of 17.11, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.89% and a return on equity of 19.01%. The business had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.38 billion. Analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share 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 issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.61%.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total transaction of $337,116.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 34,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,415,960.28. This represents a 7.09% decrease in their position. The transaction 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 Upgrades and Downgrades

ABT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $145.00 price target (up previously from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Leerink Partners initiated 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $143.11.

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.