Verum Partners LLC Invests $207,000 in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Verum Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,821 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $207,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 156,467,081 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $17,222,332,000 after purchasing an additional 701,740 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 86,588,614 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $9,530,825,000 after purchasing an additional 7,527,778 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 64,294,784 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $7,077,148,000 after purchasing an additional 1,457,847 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 32,236,101 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $3,548,228,000 after purchasing an additional 1,027,390 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,115,836,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ABT remained flat at $103.20 during mid-day trading on Tuesday. The stock had a trading volume of 3,650,242 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,681,587. The company has a market cap of $179.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.12, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $104.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $110.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $89.67 and a 12 month high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced 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 company had revenue of $9.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.88 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.03 EPS. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 68.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.57, for a total transaction of $1,055,843.29. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 211,341 shares in the company, valued at $22,099,928.37. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.57, for a total transaction of $1,055,843.29. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 211,341 shares in the company, valued at $22,099,928.37. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 22,852 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.25, for a total transaction of $2,428,025.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 61,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,530,337.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on ABT. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup reduced their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $119.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $125.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $121.00 price objective for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $120.18.

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.