GEM Asset Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

GEM Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 3,762 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 150 shares during the quarter. GEM Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $391,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ABT. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 1,677.8% during the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 320 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on ABT shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $125.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Edward Jones lowered shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.80.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:ABT opened at $117.05 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $203.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.72. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $108.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $108.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $89.67 and a 12-month high of $121.64.

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

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

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