Nadler Financial Group Inc. Buys 891 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Nadler Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 9.8% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 10,011 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 891 shares during the quarter. Nadler Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,328,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,373,461,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 383.1% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,358,698 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $945,453,000 after acquiring an additional 6,628,310 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth approximately $635,056,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 15,420.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,102,648 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $676,866,000 after purchasing an additional 5,069,771 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 67,972,953 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $7,688,160,000 after purchasing an additional 2,229,026 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 2.7%

NYSE ABT opened at $133.73 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $99.71 and a 12 month high of $141.23. The company has a market capitalization of $232.67 billion, a PE ratio of 17.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.73. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $132.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $127.43.

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

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be given 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 dividend yield of 1.76%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is 30.61%.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In related 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 value of $337,116.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,415,960.28. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $142.61.

About Abbott Laboratories

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.