Nelson Capital Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Nelson Capital Management LLC lessened its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 2.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,681 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 150 shares during the period. Nelson Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $590,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,115,836,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 165,301,921 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $18,788,216,000 after acquiring an additional 8,834,840 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted 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 grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 9.1% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 70,177,564 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $7,976,382,000 after acquiring an additional 5,882,780 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter worth $341,777,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 0.5 %

ABT stock opened at $116.55 on Thursday. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $89.67 and a 12 month high of $121.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.18. The company has a market cap of $202.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $108.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $108.69.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued 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. The firm had revenue of $10.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.37 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.65%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 15th were given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 15th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.89%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ABT shares. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $121.00 price target on the stock. Edward Jones lowered shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Barclays boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.80.

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.