Karp Capital Management Corp Takes Position in Abbott Laboratories (ABT)

Karp Capital Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 740,492 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $32,885,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 37.9% in the first quarter. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY now owns 2,531 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $112,000 after buying an additional 696 shares during the period. Feltz Wealth PLAN Inc. purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter worth $112,000. First Command Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 10.2% in the first quarter. First Command Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,787 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $124,000 after buying an additional 257 shares during the period. Atwood & Palmer Inc. boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 157.5% in the first quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 3,270 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $145,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Finally, Independent Portfolio Consultants Inc. boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 9.3% in the first quarter. Independent Portfolio Consultants Inc. now owns 3,420 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $152,000 after buying an additional 292 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE ABT) traded down 1.12% during trading on Friday, reaching $48.74. 4,810,807 shares of the company traded hands. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $49.15 and a 200 day moving average of $45.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.68 billion, a PE ratio of 68.26 and a beta of 1.07. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $37.38 and a 52 week high of $51.13.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 20th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 4.96% and a return on equity of 14.43%. The firm had revenue of $6.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.63 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.55 earnings per share. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue was up 24.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post $2.49 EPS for the current year.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 14th were given a dividend of $0.265 per share. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 12th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 149.30%.

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A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Cowen and Company restated a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup Inc. assumed coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $53.00 target price on the stock. BidaskClub cut shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, August 6th. Zacks Investment Research cut shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd. Finally, Guggenheim assumed coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, June 29th. They set a “buy” rating and a $58.00 target price on the stock. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Abbott Laboratories has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.14.

In related news, insider Stephen R. Fussell sold 196,550 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.00, for a total value of $9,041,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 221,488 shares in the company, valued at $10,188,448. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Brian J. Blaser sold 15,000 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $750,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 143,154 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,157,700. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 415,252 shares of company stock valued at $19,878,958. Company insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

About Abbott Laboratories

Abbott Laboratories is engaged in the discovery, development, manufacture and sale of a range of healthcare products. The Company operates through four segments: Established Pharmaceutical Products, Diagnostic Products, Nutritional Products and Vascular Products. Its Established Pharmaceutical Products include a range of branded generic pharmaceuticals manufactured around the world and marketed and sold outside the United States.

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