Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd Buys Shares of 119,938 Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 119,938 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $12,463,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 0.4 %

ABT opened at $113.70 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $197.80 billion, a PE ratio of 35.42, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.72. The business has a 50 day moving average of $110.50 and a 200-day moving average of $108.45. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $89.67 and a 52 week high of $121.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $10.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.37 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.65% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 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 Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be given a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.93%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Barclays raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $121.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $125.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.41, for a total value of $16,492,852.39. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,617,068.19. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Company 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.