Kovack Advisors Inc. Raises Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Kovack Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 23.0% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 8,849 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,656 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,006,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of ABT. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings 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 worth $17,222,332,000 after purchasing an additional 701,740 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 86,588,614 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $9,530,825,000 after acquiring an additional 7,527,778 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 64,294,784 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $7,077,148,000 after acquiring an additional 1,457,847 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 32,236,101 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $3,548,228,000 after acquiring an additional 1,027,390 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $2,115,836,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on ABT shares. Barclays decreased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $121.00 target price for the company. Raymond James reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $124.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $119.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $120.18.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In related 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 value 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 approximately $22,099,928.37. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was 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 owns 211,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,099,928.37. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 22,852 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 61,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,530,337.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.47% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of ABT opened at $102.33 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $178.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.72. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $104.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $110.00. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $89.67 and a 52 week high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $9.88 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.03 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 15th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.15%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.54%.

Abbott Laboratories Company 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.