3,800 Shares in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Acquired by Enhancing Capital LLC

Enhancing Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 3,800 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock, valued at approximately $430,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Xponance Inc. raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 268,652 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $30,387,000 after acquiring an additional 26,192 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 374.9% in the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 112,369 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $12,710,000 after acquiring an additional 88,707 shares during the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at about $12,669,000. Evoke Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 18.0% in the 4th quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC now owns 18,889 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $2,137,000 after acquiring an additional 2,876 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 25,420 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $2,860,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ABT. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America raised their price target 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. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $137.94.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction of $131,123.33. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 74,381 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,277,222.77. The trade was a 1.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction of $77,651.54. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 31,970 shares in the company, valued at $4,417,294.90. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 116,449 shares of company stock worth $15,463,316. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock traded down $0.61 during trading on Friday, hitting $126.18. 8,853,820 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,482,576. The stock has a market cap of $218.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $128.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $119.90. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $99.71 and a 12-month high of $141.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.34. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The business had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.19 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.85%.

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.