Signature Wealth Management Group Has $310,000 Stock Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Signature Wealth Management Group grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 5.6% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,338 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 125 shares during the quarter. Signature Wealth Management Group’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $310,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Three Seasons Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,428,000. Kelly Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter valued at $216,000. Voleon Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at $273,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 1,095,443 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $133,691,000 after buying an additional 57,499 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 152,719 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $17,274,000 after buying an additional 2,774 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 0.8%

NYSE:ABT opened at $135.41 on Monday. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $99.71 and a 12 month high of $141.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $131.50 and its 200 day moving average is $126.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $235.59 billion, a PE ratio of 17.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.73.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The firm had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.38 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.74%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total value of $337,116.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 34,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,415,960.28. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Barclays upped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $142.59.

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.