Vaughan David Investments LLC IL Purchases 2,378 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Vaughan David Investments LLC IL increased its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 427,250 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,378 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories comprises about 1.1% of Vaughan David Investments LLC IL’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $44,396,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Encompass More Asset Management grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Encompass More Asset Management now owns 3,002 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $312,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Wynn Capital LLC grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 2.9% during the first quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 3,427 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $390,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. NORTHSTAR ASSET MANAGEMENT Co LLC grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% during the first quarter. NORTHSTAR ASSET MANAGEMENT Co LLC now owns 5,396 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $613,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Hummer Financial Advisory Services Inc grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 1.2% during the first quarter. Hummer Financial Advisory Services Inc now owns 8,290 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $942,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Addison Capital Co grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 5.4% during the first quarter. Addison Capital Co now owns 1,950 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $222,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE ABT opened at $117.05 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $108.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $108.63. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $89.67 and a fifty-two week high of $121.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $203.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.18.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.04. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.65% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The firm had revenue of $10.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 15th were paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is presently 68.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on ABT. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $121.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Edward Jones lowered shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.