Sciencast Management LP Takes $1.89 Million Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Sciencast Management LP bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 16,597 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $1,886,000. Abbott Laboratories accounts for about 1.1% of Sciencast Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 1,677.8% in the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 320 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 22,852 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 61,462 shares in the company, valued at $6,530,337.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 22,852 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 61,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,530,337.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 211,341 shares in the company, valued at $22,099,928.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of ABT stock traded up $0.09 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $104.27. The company had a trading volume of 4,277,627 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,648,809. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $89.67 and a 1-year high of $121.64. 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 firm has a market cap of $181.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a 50 day moving average of $104.05 and a 200 day moving average of $109.73.

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

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $119.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $121.00 price target for the company. 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 report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $125.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $120.18.

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.