RiverFront Investment Group LLC Has $978,000 Stock Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

RiverFront Investment Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,408 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the period. RiverFront Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $978,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Heritage Oak Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter valued at $386,000. Souders Financial Advisors grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 4.2% in the second quarter. Souders Financial Advisors now owns 43,264 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $4,496,000 after purchasing an additional 1,734 shares during the period. KPP Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 10.6% in the second quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,982 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $829,000 after purchasing an additional 768 shares in the last quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 152.0% during the second quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 4,836 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $502,000 after purchasing an additional 2,917 shares during the period. Finally, Founders Financial Alliance LLC grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 11.4% in the 2nd quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC now owns 4,555 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $473,000 after buying an additional 467 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

ABT stock opened at $113.58 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market cap of $197.59 billion, a PE ratio of 35.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.72. The business has a 50 day moving average of $111.97 and a 200-day moving average of $108.15. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $89.67 and a 12-month high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $10.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.37 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.65%. The business’s revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ABT. Piper Sandler Companies began coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $120.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Edward Jones downgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $124.33.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories 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 transaction of $16,492,852.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,617,068.19. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.