Narwhal Capital Management Purchases 8,582 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Narwhal Capital Management boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 16.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 60,055 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,582 shares during the period. Narwhal Capital Management’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $7,966,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Elwood & Goetz Wealth Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 18.0% during the first quarter. Elwood & Goetz Wealth Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,620 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $348,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Valmark Advisers Inc. increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 17,093 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,267,000 after purchasing an additional 1,061 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 105,363 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $13,976,000 after purchasing an additional 4,694 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 5.9% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 253,521 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $33,630,000 after buying an additional 14,126 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EQ Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter worth about $172,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABT has been the subject of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $145.00 price objective (up from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Abbott Laboratories to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $142.61.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

NYSE ABT opened at $132.88 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $132.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $127.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $231.20 billion, a PE ratio of 17.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 1.27. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $99.71 and a 1 year high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.38 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 19.01% and a net margin of 31.89%. Analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be given a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.61%.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now owns 34,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,415,960.28. This represents a 7.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.