Clune & Associates LTD. acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 14,541 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock, valued at approximately $1,645,000.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Welch Group LLC raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 68,653 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $7,744,000 after acquiring an additional 3,479 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 1,095,443 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $133,691,000 after purchasing an additional 57,499 shares in the last quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co now owns 166,132 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $18,791,000 after purchasing an additional 5,881 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 152,719 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $17,274,000 after buying an additional 2,774 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pensionfund Sabic purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth $2,828,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Abbott Laboratories Price Performance
Shares of ABT stock traded down $1.75 on Tuesday, reaching $125.46. 6,726,845 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,475,835. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $129.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $120.12. 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 company has a market cap of $217.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $99.71 and a 1 year 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 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.34. The firm 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 firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is currently 30.85%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total value of $77,651.54. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,970 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,417,294.90. The trade was a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of Abbott Laboratories 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,152,064.50. This trade represents a 15.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 116,449 shares of company stock valued at $15,463,316 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several analysts have commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note 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 note on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com downgraded Abbott Laboratories from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $137.94.
Read Our Latest Report on ABT
About Abbott Laboratories
(
Free Report)
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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