1,615 Shares in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Purchased by FDx Advisors Inc.

FDx Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 1,615 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $214,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Abound Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter worth $28,000. Wormser Freres Gestion bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter worth $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 transaction of $337,116.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 34,058 shares in the company, valued at $4,415,960.28. This represents a 7.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $131.95 on Friday. 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 one year low of $99.71 and a one year high of $141.23. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $133.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $129.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $229.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.73.

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

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.79%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, June 16th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $143.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Abbott Laboratories to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Six equities research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $143.11.

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.