Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Stock Position Raised by Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc.

Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 42.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,247 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after purchasing an additional 2,145 shares during the period. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc.'s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $820,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ABT. Groupama Asset Managment raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 22.2% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 228,448 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 41,557 shares in the last quarter. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABT opened at $137.68 on Thursday. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $99.71 and a 1-year high of $141.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $238.79 billion, a PE ratio of 18.00, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.75. The business's 50 day moving average is $124.51 and its 200-day moving average is $118.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.34. The business had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.03 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. Abbott Laboratories's quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

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 $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is 30.85%.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,152,064.50. The trade was a 15.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total value of $131,123.33. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 25,282 shares of company stock valued at $3,263,348 in the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $158.00 price objective (up from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com downgraded Abbott Laboratories from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Argus raised Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $137.19.

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.

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