Blueprint Investment Partners LLC Buys 2,695 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Blueprint Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 51.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,921 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after acquiring an additional 2,695 shares during the quarter. Blueprint Investment Partners LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $896,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 22.2% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 228,448 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 41,557 shares in the last quarter. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

NYSE:ABT traded down $1.75 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $125.46. The company had a trading volume of 6,176,592 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,480,421. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $99.71 and a one year 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. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $128.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $120.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $217.59 billion, a PE ratio of 16.40, a PEG 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 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.19 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

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 given a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.88%. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is 30.85%.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,152,064.50. This trade represents a 15.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,381 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,277,222.77. This trade represents a 1.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 116,449 shares of company stock worth $15,463,316. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ABT shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Argus raised Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $137.94.

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.