Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Acquired by Proficio Capital Partners LLC

Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 99.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,896 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after purchasing an additional 4,437 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,006,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Welch Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 68,653 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $7,744,000 after buying an additional 3,479 shares in the last quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co now owns 166,132 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $18,791,000 after purchasing an additional 5,881 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 152,719 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $17,274,000 after purchasing an additional 2,774 shares in the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth about $2,828,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 30.5% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 107,308 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $12,234,000 after buying an additional 25,052 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on ABT shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Argus raised Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. 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 research note on Monday, March 10th. StockNews.com cut shares of Abbott Laboratories from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $137.94.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE ABT traded down $1.75 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $125.46. 6,725,915 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,480,421. The company's 50-day moving average is $128.79 and its 200-day moving average is $120.04. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $217.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.40, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $99.71 and a 52-week high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates 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 last year, the business earned $1.19 earnings per share. The business'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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.85%.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of the company's 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 sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.82, for a total transaction of $12,199,967.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 116,449 shares of company stock worth $15,463,316. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.