Thrive Wealth Management LLC Raises Stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Thrive Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 9.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,487 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 291 shares during the period. Thrive Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $396,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. 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 valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on ABT shares. Raymond James reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $124.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Barclays cut their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $119.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $121.00 price target on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $120.64.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of ABT traded down $0.23 on Thursday, reaching $104.65. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,984,901 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,685,751. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $104.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $110.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $182.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.71, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.74. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $89.67 and a 12-month high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $9.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.88 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.96% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The company’s revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.03 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 15th will be paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.54%.

Insider Activity

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of the company’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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 211,341 shares in the company, valued at $22,099,928.37. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 in the company, valued at $6,530,337.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.57, for a total transaction of $1,055,843.29. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 211,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,099,928.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

About Abbott Laboratories

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.