Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Buys 12,673 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 8.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 171,807 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after purchasing an additional 12,673 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $19,433,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% during the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 239 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ABT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Argus raised shares of Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $158.00 price objective (up previously from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Four investment 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $137.94.

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Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ABT traded down $0.57 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $129.71. 8,998,190 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,584,649. The firm has a market cap of $224.97 billion, a PE ratio of 16.96, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.69. 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 stock's 50-day simple moving average is $126.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $119.29. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $99.71 and a 12 month high of $141.23.

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

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total transaction of $3,054,573.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,152,064.50. This represents a 15.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total value of $77,651.54. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 31,970 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,417,294.90. The trade was a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 116,449 shares of company stock valued at $15,463,316. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Abbott Laboratories

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.