Jackson Thornton Wealth Management LLC Makes New $208,000 Investment in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Jackson Thornton Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 1,586 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $208,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Wormser Freres Gestion bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

ABT opened at $133.70 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $232.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.34, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $133.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $128.30. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $99.71 and a 1-year high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.38 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 19.01% and a net margin of 31.89%. Equities analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 30.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James Financial raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Abbott Laboratories to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $142.61.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 owned 34,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,415,960.28. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

About Abbott Laboratories

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.