Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Acquired by Vinva Investment Management Ltd

Vinva Investment Management Ltd grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 11.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 90,252 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after acquiring an additional 9,593 shares during the period. Vinva Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $10,180,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Stokes Family Office LLC raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC now owns 25,948 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $2,935,000 after buying an additional 1,108 shares in the last quarter. North Forty Two & Co. bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth approximately $626,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth approximately $78,000. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth approximately $286,000. Finally, Brooklyn FI LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,108,000. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of ABT traded down $0.61 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $126.18. 8,853,820 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,482,576. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $99.71 and a 1-year high of $141.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.60. The company has a 50 day moving average of $128.51 and a 200-day moving average of $119.90. 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.

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Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is 30.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.82, for a total value of $12,199,967.94. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 71,928 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,625,404.96. This represents a 55.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 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 $131,123.33. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,381 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,277,222.77. This trade represents a 1.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 116,449 shares of company stock worth $15,463,316. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on ABT. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Argus raised Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com downgraded Abbott Laboratories from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup upped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $137.94.

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.