Select Asset Management & Trust Acquires Shares of 5,200 Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Select Asset Management & Trust bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 5,200 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock, valued at approximately $588,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ABT. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 39.8% in the 4th quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. now owns 66,059 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $7,472,000 after acquiring an additional 18,802 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Dimensions Group Ltd. increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Dimensions Group Ltd. now owns 4,255 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $481,000 after buying an additional 466 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 165.1% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 89,342 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $10,105,000 after buying an additional 55,643 shares in the last quarter. Transatlantique Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Transatlantique Private Wealth LLC now owns 10,795 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $1,221,000 after buying an additional 1,498 shares during the period. Finally, Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth approximately $158,000. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 0.4 %

ABT stock traded down $0.49 on Friday, hitting $128.90. 4,849,051 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,199,502. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $130.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $122.31. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $99.71 and a 12-month high of $141.23. The stock has a market cap of $223.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.60.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.38 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.61%.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total value of $3,054,573.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at $16,152,064.50. This represents a 15.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction of $131,123.33. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,381 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,277,222.77. This represents a 1.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 116,449 shares of company stock valued at $15,463,316 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on ABT shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $142.59.

Abbott Laboratories Company 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.