Cerity Partners LLC Raises Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 3.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,006,068 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after acquiring an additional 38,130 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Abbott Laboratories worth $113,878,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% during the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 239 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE ABT traded up $2.34 during trading on Friday, hitting $126.84. 7,355,410 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,003,334. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $130.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $121.34. 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 $219.98 billion, a PE ratio of 16.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.80. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $99.71 and a 12-month high of $141.23.

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Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.34. The company 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Abbott Laboratories from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Argus upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $158.00 price objective (up from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $137.94.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.82, for a total value of $12,199,967.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 71,928 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,625,404.96. This trade represents a 55.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,277,222.77. This represents a 1.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 116,449 shares of company stock worth $15,463,316 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

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.