Addenda Capital Inc. Buys 12,995 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Addenda Capital Inc. raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 26.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 62,102 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,995 shares during the quarter. Addenda Capital Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $6,453,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ABT. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,115,836,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 165,301,921 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $18,788,216,000 after acquiring an additional 8,834,840 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 86,588,614 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $9,530,825,000 after acquiring an additional 7,527,778 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 9.1% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 70,177,564 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $7,976,382,000 after acquiring an additional 5,882,780 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 12,577.8% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,772,670 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $415,948,000 after acquiring an additional 3,742,912 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

NYSE ABT traded up $1.65 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $109.89. The company had a trading volume of 5,157,800 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,033,125. The company has a market capitalization of $191.17 billion, a PE ratio of 34.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $105.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $108.79. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $89.67 and a twelve month high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.04. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.65%. The firm had revenue of $10.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 15th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup reduced their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $119.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Raymond James reissued a “buy” rating and set a $124.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Edward Jones cut Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $121.00 price target for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.00.

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.