Cornerstone Advisors LLC Buys 7,600 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Cornerstone Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 10.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 82,800 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after purchasing an additional 7,600 shares during the period. Cornerstone Advisors LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $9,366,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Welch Group LLC boosted its stake 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 worth $7,744,000 after acquiring an additional 3,479 shares in the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.5% during 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 grew its stake in shares of 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 valued at $18,791,000 after buying an additional 5,881 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 152,719 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $17,274,000 after buying an additional 2,774 shares during the period. Finally, Simplify Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 67.3% in the third quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. now owns 14,083 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $1,606,000 after acquiring an additional 5,664 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction of $77,651.54. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 31,970 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,417,294.90. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.82, for a total transaction of $12,199,967.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 71,928 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,625,404.96. This represents a 55.90 % 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 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.47% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

NYSE:ABT traded down $2.29 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $130.37. 4,313,392 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,544,081. The company has a market cap of $226.10 billion, a PE ratio of 17.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.69. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $99.71 and a 12-month high of $141.23. The business's 50-day moving average price is $126.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $119.13. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.34. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The company had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. Abbott Laboratories's revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

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 $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.81%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is presently 30.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ABT. StockNews.com cut shares of Abbott Laboratories from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and set a $158.00 price target (up from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, January 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.