Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. Raises Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 72.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 375 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 158 shares during the quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $43,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ABT. Dark Forest Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter valued at about $310,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% in the third quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 80,955 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $7,840,000 after buying an additional 348 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth approximately $14,993,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 41.7% during the third quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 12,867 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,246,000 after purchasing an additional 3,785 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 2.3% during the third quarter. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,114 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,658,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE ABT opened at $105.30 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $183.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The business has a 50-day moving average of $104.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $110.16. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $89.67 and a 1 year high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.96%. The business had revenue of $9.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.88 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.03 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, July 15th will be given a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.54%.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 22,852 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.25, for a total value of $2,428,025.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 61,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,530,337.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.57, for a total transaction of $1,055,843.29. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 211,341 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,099,928.37. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 22,852 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.25, for a total value of $2,428,025.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 61,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,530,337.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ABT. Raymond James restated a “buy” rating and issued a $124.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $121.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $125.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $120.64.

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.