Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC Buys 459 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 1.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 28,731 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 459 shares during the period. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $2,985,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 1,677.8% in the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 320 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 2.3 %

NYSE ABT opened at $116.43 on Tuesday. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $89.67 and a 12 month high of $121.64. The stock has a market cap of $202.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.72. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $108.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $108.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.04. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.65%. The firm had revenue of $10.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 15th were issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 68.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on ABT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $121.00 price objective for the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $125.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Edward Jones cut Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their target price 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.80.

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.