Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC Buys 1,986 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 31.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,372 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,986 shares during the period. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $952,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ABT. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1,677.8% in the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 320 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the period. Finally, Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 236.0% in the fourth quarter. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. now owns 336 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on ABT shares. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $125.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Citigroup dropped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $119.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $121.00 price target on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $120.64.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.57, for a total value of $1,055,843.29. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 211,341 shares in the company, valued at $22,099,928.37. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 22,852 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.25, for a total transaction of $2,428,025.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 61,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,530,337.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.57, for a total value of $1,055,843.29. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 211,341 shares in the company, valued at $22,099,928.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock traded down $0.72 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $104.16. The company had a trading volume of 1,517,153 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,665,326. The company’s 50-day moving average is $104.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $110.13. The company has a market cap of $181.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.74. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $89.67 and a twelve month high of $121.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.96%. The business had revenue of $9.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.88 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.03 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, July 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.54%.

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.