Riversedge Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Riversedge Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,304 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 144 shares during the period. Riversedge Advisors LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $343,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter worth $28,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter worth $30,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 0.2 %

Abbott Laboratories stock traded down $0.19 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $112.91. 3,835,822 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,931,476. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $89.67 and a fifty-two week high of $121.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $196.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.17, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $106.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $108.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

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

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 15th were paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Edward Jones cut shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $125.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $121.00 target price for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.80.

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.