Corps Capital Advisors LLC Takes Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Corps Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 5,201 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock, valued at approximately $588,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ABT. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% during the 3rd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 289 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

NYSE ABT traded up $2.04 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $135.21. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,098,697 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,499,726. The stock has a market cap of $234.51 billion, a PE ratio of 17.67, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.75. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $120.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $116.65. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $99.71 and a 52 week high of $135.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 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 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $11.03 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.19 EPS. Abbott Laboratories's quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.75%. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is presently 30.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on ABT shares. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Argus raised Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $158.00 price target (up from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $133.06.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.