Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Bought by Bank of Nova Scotia

Bank of Nova Scotia grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 38.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 351,598 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after purchasing an additional 96,995 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $39,771,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ABT. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 168,645,397 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $19,075,481,000 after buying an additional 739,260 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,668,834 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $4,023,027,000 after acquiring an additional 765,636 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 26,392,302 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $2,985,233,000 after purchasing an additional 581,325 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth $2,373,461,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,940,321 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $1,463,680,000 after purchasing an additional 330,844 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company's stock.

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Insider Buying and Selling

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 shares were sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total transaction of $3,054,573.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of Abbott Laboratories 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,381 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,277,222.77. The trade was a 1.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 116,449 shares of company stock worth $15,463,316 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

NYSE ABT traded up $2.34 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $126.84. The stock had a trading volume of 7,355,410 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,003,333. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $130.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $121.34. The company has a market cap of $219.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.80. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $99.71 and a 52-week high of $141.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.60 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 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34. The business had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.03 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.19 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.86%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on ABT shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Argus upgraded Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $158.00 price objective (up from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Four equities research 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.