Southland Equity Partners LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Southland Equity Partners LLC lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 1.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,809 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Southland Equity Partners LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,036,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tallon Kerry Patrick acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $200,000. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 23.5% during the fourth quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 82,443 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $9,325,000 after acquiring an additional 15,692 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 51,719 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $5,850,000 after acquiring an additional 4,755 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $29,120,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 75.1% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 470,094 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $53,327,000 after acquiring an additional 201,556 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total value of $337,116.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 34,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,415,960.28. This represents a 7.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $135.41 on Friday. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $99.71 and a 1 year high of $141.23. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $131.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $126.37. The company has a market capitalization of $235.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.60.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The firm had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.38 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be given a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.74%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on ABT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $142.59.

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.