Griffin Asset Management Inc. Purchases 553 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Griffin Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 0.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 64,948 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 553 shares during the quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $7,382,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Avity Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Avity Investment Management Inc. now owns 106,826 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $12,142,000 after buying an additional 2,685 shares during the period. WD Rutherford LLC lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. WD Rutherford LLC now owns 11,548 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,313,000 after purchasing an additional 580 shares during the period. Independence Bank of Kentucky grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 59.4% during the 1st quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 17,166 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,951,000 after buying an additional 6,399 shares during the period. Norris Perne & French LLP MI lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1.2% in the first quarter. Norris Perne & French LLP MI now owns 144,344 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $16,406,000 after buying an additional 1,761 shares during the period. Finally, OneAscent Financial Services LLC raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 10.0% during the 1st quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 4,398 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $500,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 22,852 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were 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 directly owns 61,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 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 transaction of $2,428,025.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 61,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,530,337.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.57, for a total transaction of $1,055,843.29. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 211,341 shares in the company, valued at $22,099,928.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Raymond James restated a “buy” rating and set a $124.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $121.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Barclays dropped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $120.64.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of ABT opened at $103.91 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $180.76 billion, a PE ratio of 32.37, a PEG ratio of 2.52 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 company’s 50-day moving average is $104.79 and its 200-day moving average is $110.10. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $89.67 and a fifty-two week high of $121.64.

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

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, July 15th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 15th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is 68.54%.

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.