Korea Investment CORP Raises Stake in Abbott Laboratories $ABT

by · The Cerbat Gem

Korea Investment CORP grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT – Free Report) by 8.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,433,496 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 105,870 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP owned approximately 0.08% of Abbott Laboratories worth $190,153,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Qtron Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 15.0% during the first quarter. Qtron Investments LLC now owns 18,893 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,506,000 after purchasing an additional 2,463 shares during the period. Alpha Family Trust lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 8.4% in the first quarter. Alpha Family Trust now owns 4,900 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $650,000 after acquiring an additional 380 shares during the period. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 4.0% in the first quarter. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC now owns 8,176 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,085,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the period. Aviso Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 9.6% in the first quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. now owns 33,006 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $4,378,000 after acquiring an additional 2,891 shares during the period. Finally, Granite Harbor Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter worth about $210,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

NYSE ABT opened at $131.66 on Monday. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $110.33 and a twelve month high of $141.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $229.15 billion, a PE ratio of 16.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.70. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $131.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $131.22.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26. The business had revenue of $11.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.01 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 18.32% and a net margin of 32.43%. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th were issued a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, CFO Philip P. Boudreau sold 5,550 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.55, for a total value of $746,752.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 51,003 shares in the company, valued at $6,862,453.65. This represents a 9.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Leerink Partners assumed coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, June 16th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $143.00 price objective for the company. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $127.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. BTIG Research reduced their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $148.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.47.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on ABT

Abbott Laboratories Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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