Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 2.7% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 4,543 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $516,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1,677.8% during the 4th 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 during the period. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of ABT traded up $0.54 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $105.31. 9,126,094 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,986,718. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $89.67 and a 52 week high of $121.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company’s 50 day moving average is $103.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $109.16. The company has a market capitalization of $183.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.70, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.72.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.04. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.32% and a net margin of 13.65%. The business had revenue of $10.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, July 15th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 68.54%.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 211,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,099,928.37. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.57, for a total value of $1,055,843.29. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 211,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,099,928.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $125.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $119.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $121.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $124.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.00.

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.