JCIC Asset Management Inc. Makes New Investment in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

JCIC Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 241 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $32,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Three Seasons Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth $1,428,000. Kelly Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter valued at $216,000. Voleon Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at $273,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 1,095,443 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $133,691,000 after buying an additional 57,499 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 152,719 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $17,274,000 after buying an additional 2,774 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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 report on Monday, June 16th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Leerink Partners assumed coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, June 16th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $143.00 price objective for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $142.61.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 34,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,415,960.28. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of ABT opened at $138.13 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.78. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $132.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $127.23. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $99.71 and a 52-week high of $141.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $240.32 billion, a PE ratio of 17.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.73.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 19.01% and a net margin of 31.89%. The business had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.38 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company 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 $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 30.61%.

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.