Salvus Wealth Management LLC Increases Stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Salvus Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 17.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,134 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 601 shares during the period. Salvus Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $470,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ABT. Austin Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 9.2% in the 1st quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,156 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the period. Nova R Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter worth approximately $364,000. Capital Planning LLC boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 11.8% in the 1st quarter. Capital Planning LLC now owns 8,523 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $969,000 after purchasing an additional 902 shares during the period. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 72.8% in the first quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 375 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the period. Finally, Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter worth $37,067,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.57, for a total value of $1,055,843.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 211,341 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,099,928.37. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 22,852 shares of Abbott Laboratories 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 61,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,530,337.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 211,341 shares in the company, valued at $22,099,928.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $121.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $124.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $119.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $120.64.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock traded up $0.28 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $105.58. 582,497 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,666,354. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $104.97 and a 200-day moving average of $110.16. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $89.67 and a 12 month high of $121.64. The company has a market cap of $183.67 billion, a PE 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 quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.60.

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

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 15th will be issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 15th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.08%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.