Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Acquires 1,347 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 184,442 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,347 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $19,165,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 1,677.8% in the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 320 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on ABT shares. Edward Jones cut shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. 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. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $121.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price target 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.80.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 0.8 %

ABT traded up $0.89 during trading on Friday, reaching $113.99. 210,469 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,834,630. The stock has a market cap of $198.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.72. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $89.67 and a twelve month high of $121.64. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $107.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $108.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.68.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $10.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.37 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.65% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Monday, July 15th were issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 15th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.93%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 68.54%.

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.