D.A. Davidson & CO. Has $17.84 Million Stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 157,750 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after purchasing an additional 2,493 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.'s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $17,843,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ABT. Insight Folios Inc raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.3% during the third quarter. Insight Folios Inc now owns 2,691 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $307,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Sfmg LLC increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 4,622 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $527,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. River Street Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. River Street Advisors LLC now owns 7,370 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $834,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 1,108 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $126,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Finally, John G Ullman & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.3% in the third quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. now owns 30,617 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $3,491,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:ABT traded up $1.87 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $135.04. The stock had a trading volume of 7,117,852 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,596,108. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $99.71 and a 12-month high of $135.41. 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 $234.22 billion, a PE ratio of 17.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.75. The company's 50 day moving average is $120.75 and its 200-day moving average is $116.83.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.34. The business 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%. Abbott Laboratories's revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is 30.85%.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,152,064.50. This represents a 15.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on ABT. StockNews.com downgraded Abbott Laboratories from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Argus raised Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $133.06.

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.