Garner Asset Management Corp Raises Stock Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Garner Asset Management Corp raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 8.7% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 2,240 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. Garner Asset Management Corp’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $255,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 165,301,921 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $18,788,216,000 after acquiring an additional 8,834,840 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 7,527,778 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 9.1% in 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 during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 32,236,101 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $3,548,228,000 after acquiring an additional 1,027,390 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,115,836,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.57, for a total transaction of $1,055,843.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 211,341 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,099,928.37. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 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 stock was sold at an average price of $106.25, for a total value of $2,428,025.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 61,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,530,337.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.57, for a total value of $1,055,843.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 211,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,099,928.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABT traded up $4.21 during trading on Thursday, hitting $110.15. 9,040,547 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,025,043. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $89.67 and a 52-week high of $121.64. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $103.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $109.08. The company has a market cap of $191.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.69, a PEG ratio of 2.62 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 (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 analysts’ expectations of $10.37 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.32% and a net margin of 13.65%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on ABT. Raymond James reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $124.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $125.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Barclays raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Edward Jones downgraded Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price objective 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.00.

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.