Abbott Laboratories (ABT) Stake Maintained by RE Advisers Corp

RE Advisers Corp maintained its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,614,000 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock at the end of the second quarter. RE Advisers Corp owned 0.09% of Abbott Laboratories worth $78,457,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ABT. Hemenway Trust Co LLC boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.4% in the second quarter. Hemenway Trust Co LLC now owns 257,792 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $12,531,000 after buying an additional 8,473 shares during the last quarter. Broderick Brian C boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.4% in the second quarter. Broderick Brian C now owns 122,510 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $5,957,000 after buying an additional 2,920 shares during the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 13.2% in the second quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 117,490 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $5,711,000 after buying an additional 13,675 shares during the last quarter. Page Arthur B boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% in the second quarter. Page Arthur B now owns 63,557 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $3,090,000 after buying an additional 912 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sabal Trust CO boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 17.4% in the second quarter. Sabal Trust CO now owns 11,735 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $570,000 after buying an additional 1,739 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE ABT) traded down 0.06% during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $49.35. 4,852,442 shares of the company traded hands. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $49.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.20. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $37.38 and a one year high of $51.13. The company has a market capitalization of $85.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 69.12 and a beta of 1.07.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 20th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $6.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.63 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 14.43% and a net margin of 4.96%. Abbott Laboratories’s quarterly revenue was up 24.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.55 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post $2.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, July 14th were given a dividend of $0.265 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 12th. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.15%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 149.30%.

Several brokerages have commented on ABT. Citigroup Inc. began coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $53.00 target price for the company. Cowen and Company reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, August 17th. BidaskClub cut shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, August 6th. Jefferies Group LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $58.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, August 3rd. Finally, Zacks Investment Research cut shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Abbott Laboratories presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price 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 stock was sold at an average price of $46.00, for a total transaction of $9,041,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 221,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,188,448. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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 value of $750,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 143,154 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,157,700. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 415,252 shares of company stock worth $19,878,958. 0.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.