Morton Capital Management LLC CA Raises Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Morton Capital Management LLC CA lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 5.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,191 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 104 shares during the quarter. Morton Capital Management LLC CA’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $291,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Optas LLC raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 18.9% in the 1st quarter. Optas LLC now owns 6,059 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $804,000 after purchasing an additional 965 shares during the period. D Orazio & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 5,233 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $694,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 10.3% in the 1st quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 57,040 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $7,566,000 after purchasing an additional 5,321 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 643.6% in the 1st quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 104,482 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $13,860,000 after purchasing an additional 90,432 shares during the period. Finally, Atlas Private Wealth Advisors acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter worth about $224,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $135.41 on Friday. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $99.71 and a one year high of $141.23. The company has a market cap of $235.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.70, a PEG 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. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $131.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $126.42.

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

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.74%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ABT. Raymond James upped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $142.59.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Abbott Laboratories news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total transaction of $337,116.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 34,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,415,960.28. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.