First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Boosts Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 6.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 47,294 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 2,838 shares during the quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $5,375,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 1,121.5% in the third quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 48,663 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $4,713,000 after acquiring an additional 44,679 shares in the last quarter. AXQ Capital LP purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter valued at about $484,000. LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter valued at about $262,000. Kingfisher Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Kingfisher Capital LLC now owns 66,097 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $6,402,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KPP Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter valued at $645,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James restated a “buy” rating and issued a $124.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $121.00 price target on the stock. Barclays dropped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report 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 note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $120.18.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

NYSE ABT traded down $0.87 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $102.33. The company had a trading volume of 2,017,846 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,739,068. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $89.67 and a fifty-two week high of $121.64. The firm has a market cap of $178.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $104.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $110.00.

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

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 15th will be given a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.54%.

Insider Activity

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 22,852 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.25, for a total value of $2,428,025.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now 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 can be accessed through this link. In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 22,852 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.25, for a total value of $2,428,025.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 61,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,530,337.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of Abbott Laboratories 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 211,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,099,928.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.47% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.