Cohen Capital Management Inc. Buys 761 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Cohen Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 7.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,799 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 761 shares during the quarter. Cohen Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,227,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 156,467,081 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $17,222,332,000 after acquiring an additional 701,740 shares during the period. Perigon Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 47,080 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $5,182,000 after acquiring an additional 2,317 shares during the period. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at about $16,764,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 7.4% in the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,106 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $301,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares during the period. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 257,508 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $28,344,000 after purchasing an additional 11,508 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:ABT traded up $1.12 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $104.17. 5,025,283 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,659,196. The stock has a market capitalization of $181.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.60. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $104.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $109.76. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $89.67 and a 12 month high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.96%. The business had revenue of $9.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.88 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.03 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, July 15th will be issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is presently 68.54%.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 22,852 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.25, for a total transaction of $2,428,025.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 61,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,530,337.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other 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 stock was 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 22,852 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 61,462 shares in the company, valued at $6,530,337.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $125.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $119.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $121.00 price target for the company. Raymond James reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $124.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Three 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 currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $120.18.

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.