First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Increases Stock Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 10.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 44,456 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,077 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $4,893,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Riverpoint Wealth Management Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth $215,000. Searle & CO. raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Searle & CO. now owns 17,400 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,915,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Trinity Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth $222,000. Concord Wealth Partners raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 337.8% during the 4th quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 12,171 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,340,000 after acquiring an additional 9,391 shares during the period. Finally, ICW Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 27,980 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $3,080,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of ABT traded up $0.32 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $106.29. The company had a trading volume of 4,096,764 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,607,345. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $113.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $108.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $184.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.74. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $89.67 and a 1 year high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $9.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.88 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.32% and a net margin of 13.96%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.03 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is presently 68.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $55,932.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 18,760 shares in the company, valued at $2,223,060. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 963 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $114,115.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at $14,895,094.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $55,932.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,223,060. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 13,935 shares of company stock worth $1,670,048 over the last 90 days. 0.47% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays cut their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Citigroup raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Raymond James reissued a “buy” rating and set a $124.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.50.

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.