Cetera Advisors LLC Increases Stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Cetera Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 110.8% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 160,586 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 84,395 shares during the quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $18,252,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1,677.8% during the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 320 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE ABT traded up $1.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $111.31. 9,885,690 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,385,752. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.68. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $89.67 and a 52 week high of $121.64. The company has a market cap of $193.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.68, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $104.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $109.06.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.04. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.65%. The business had revenue of $10.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 68.54%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 22,852 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 61,462 shares in the company, valued at $6,530,337.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 61,462 shares in the company, valued at $6,530,337.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 211,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,099,928.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Edward Jones cut Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Raymond James reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $124.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $125.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $119.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.00.

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.