27,411 Shares in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Bought by Keynote Financial Services LLC

Keynote Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 27,411 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $3,116,000. Abbott Laboratories comprises 2.6% of Keynote Financial Services LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in 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 worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on ABT. Citigroup dropped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $119.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $121.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Barclays raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Edward Jones cut Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.00.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

ABT traded up $1.16 during trading on Friday, reaching $111.31. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 9,885,690 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,385,752. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $104.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $109.03. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $89.67 and a 1 year 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.

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

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 15th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is presently 68.54%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 22,852 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were 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 approximately $6,530,337.50. The transaction was disclosed in a 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 business’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 value 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of the business’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 value 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 approximately $22,099,928.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories 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.