Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Bought by NovaPoint Capital LLC

by · The Markets Daily

NovaPoint Capital LLC raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT – Free Report) by 2.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,985 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 739 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories comprises approximately 1.3% of NovaPoint Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. NovaPoint Capital LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $4,375,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Three Seasons Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth $1,428,000. Kelly Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter worth $216,000. Voleon Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth $273,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 1,095,443 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $133,691,000 after buying an additional 57,499 shares during the period. Finally, Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 152,719 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $17,274,000 after purchasing an additional 2,774 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Abbott Laboratories to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $142.61.

Check Out Our Latest Report on Abbott Laboratories

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total value of $337,116.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 34,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,415,960.28. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE ABT opened at $136.21 on Wednesday. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $99.71 and a twelve month high of $141.23. 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 market cap of $236.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.67, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.73. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $133.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $127.97.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.38 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.61%.

About Abbott Laboratories

(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.

Featured Stories